mybudget360.com / by mybudget360 / July 22, 2014
One distinctive feature of this recovery is that many of the jobs added since the recession officially ended five years ago is that a large part of the jobs are coming from low wage labor. Low wages are not the only challenge hitting Americans. The small package of benefits, or lack thereof in many cases, is leaving Americans in a position where more of their disposable income is going to basic needs like healthcare and retirement planning. Pensions are virtually extinct in the current environment and companies are largely scaling back what benefits they give to new incoming workers. Younger workers have a tough time developing the skills required for the new positions in the market and are pushed into lower paying jobs. This lag in career development also stunts any potential for socking money away for retirement. That is why many younger Americans have nothing saved and in many cases are starting their working professional lives with a negative net worth based on student debt. If we look at the average working hours for an American worker we will find that we are still nestled in the depths of a generational trough. Why is that? Because of our growing army of part time workers.
A nation of part-time workers
The trend to working fewer hours per week is nothing new. In fact, we’ve been on a steady decline since the 1970s. A large part of this has to do with a growing number of people working in part-time roles in the low wage economy. As our middle class shrinks with typical 40 hour a week employment, we are seeing more contract and part-time labor that usually falls under the 40 hour level.
The recent recession pushed us into a new low even below the already lower level of the 1990s:
The post A trend to working fewer hours and low wage labor: Is America looking at becoming a low wage nation in a race to the bottom? 1 out of 4 people working are in jobs paying $10 an hour or less. appeared first on Silver For The People.
