Where the Job Growth Is: At the Low End, by Steven Greenhouse, NY Times: There?s more unhappy news for the millions of Americans hoping for a surge in the number of good, high-paying jobs ? a new report concludes that the great bulk of new jobs created since the economic recovery began are in lower-wage occupations, paying $13.52 or less an hour.
The report by the National Employment Law Project, a liberal research and advocacy group, found that while 60 percent of the jobs lost during the downturn were in midwage occupations, 73 percent of the jobs added since the recession ended had been in lower-wage occupations, like cashier, stocking clerk or food preparation worker.
According to the report, ?The Good Jobs Deficit,? the number of jobs in midwage and high-wage occupations remains significantly below the prerecession peak, while the number of jobs in lower-wage occupations has climbed back close to its former peak. ...
The report gives additional ammunition to those who argue, like David Autor, an economics professor at M.I.T., that there is a distinct hollowing out of the middle. ...?We should emphasize that it is too early in the recovery to predict whether these trends will continue,? the report said.
