Source: Ben Casselman, Five Thirty Eight, May 13, 2016
…..But this much is clear: For all of the glow that surrounds manufacturing jobs in political rhetoric, there is nothing inherently special about them. Some pay well; others don’t. They are not immune from the forces that have led to slow wage growth in other sectors of the economy. When politicians pledge to protect manufacturing jobs, they really mean a certain kind of job: well-paid, long-lasting, with opportunities for advancement. Those aren’t qualities associated with working on a factory floor; they’re qualities associated with being a member of a union…..
Related:
Producing Poverty: The Public Cost of Low-Wage Production Jobs in Manufacturing
Source: Ken Jacobs, Zohar Perla, Ian Perry and Dave Graham-Squire, Labor Center at the University of California, May 10, 2016
Much attention has been given in recent years to low-wage work in the fast-food industry, big-box retail, and other service sector industries in the U.S. The rise of low-wage business models in the service sector has often been contrasted to business models of the past, when blue collar jobs in the manufacturing industry supported a large middle class in the United States. …. When a day’s labor no longer affords the basic necessities, working Americans rely on public assistance programs funded by U.S. taxpayers to close the gap. Recent research by David Autor and colleagues has documented the impact of increased exposure to trade from low-wage countries on wages and use of safety net programs. In this research brief we estimate the public cost of low wages in frontline production jobs in the manufacturing industry by detailing state and federal expenditures on safety net programs for workers in this industry and their families. This brief is the latest in a series that explores the pressures placed on safety net programs by low-wage industries….
America’s Shrinking Middle Class: A Close Look at Changes Within Metropolitan Areas
Source: Pew Research Center, Social & Demographic Trends, May 11, 2016
The American middle class is losing ground in metropolitan areas across the country, affecting communities from Boston to Seattle and from Dallas to Milwaukee. From 2000 to 2014 the share of adults living in middle-income households fell in 203 of the 229 U.S. metropolitan areas examined in a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data. The decrease in the middle-class share was often substantial, measuring 6 percentage points or more in 53 metropolitan areas, compared with a 4-point drop nationally….