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Low-Income Workers and Their Employers (PDF)
By Gregory Acs, Austin Nichols
September 11, 2007

Summary: This report describes the characteristics of low-wage workers and their employers and the implications of these characteristics for public programs and policies. Data from the 2004 Annual Demographic Supplement to the Current Population Survey show that about one in four workers (aged 18–61 years) earned less than $7.73 an hour in 2003. Less than half of these low-wage workers live in low-income families. About one in twenty workers are low wage and living in low-income families with children. Low-wage, low-income workers with children have relatively low levels of education; only about 30 percent have some education beyond high school. They are disproportionately likely to be younger, Hispanic, live in one-parent families, and report being in fair or poor health compared with the average worker. Low-wage workers are far less likely to work full time and year round than other workers. Data have significant implications for policies and programs aimed at improving the material well-being of low-income working families with children. Policymakers need to be aware of the extent to which it is better to target workers and their wages (e.g., an increased minimum wage) rather than the incomes of low-income families with children (e.g., increased subsidies for child care), or to make longer-term investments that may benefit both down the road (e.g., expanded job training and apprenticeship programs).

Index Terms: Employer Role, Low Income Families, Child Care Arrangements, Employee Turnover

Publisher: Urban Institute

Publication Type: Reports (Research/technical)

Pages: 18 pages
Language: English
URL: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411532_low_income_workers.pdf

Availability
Urban Institute
2100 M Street, NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20037
202-833-7200
paffairs@ui.urban.org
http://www.urban.org/

 
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