Job Growth Focused on Low-Wage Work

The National Employment Law Project just released a report finding that recent job gains have been largely in low-wage work (defined as $9.03 -$12.91 per hour), in contrast to job losses in the recession being centered on mid- ($12.92 -$19.04 per hour) to -high ($19.05 -$31.40 per hour) paying jobs (you can see a fuller summary at the New York Times' Economix).  According to NELP:

• Lower-wage industries constituted 23 percent of job loss, but fully 49 percent of recent growth
• Mid-wage industries constituted 36 percent of job loss, and 37 percent of recent growth
• Higher-wage industries constituted 40 percent of job loss, but only 14 percent of recent growth

This ratio, and the slow return of the job market, is also worse than we saw in the 2001 recovery.  Not a surprise given the depth of this recession, of course.

-JH