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Kasich Recovery Yields Low-Wage Jobs
For Immediate Release: August 20, 2014 Contact: Dale Butland, 614-783-5833IO: Kasich Recovery Yields Low-Wage Jobs Think Tank Study Says High & Medium Wage Jobs Decrease; Newly Created Jobs “Don’t Pay Enough to Support a Family.”
Columbus — Innovation Ohio, a progressive think tank headquartered in Columbus, released a new study today which finds that for the first time since 2007, Ohio now has more low wage jobs than medium or high wage jobs. Using Occupational Employment data from the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the study also found that while 9 out of 10 Ohio jobs lost during the Great Recession paid medium or high wages, low-paying jobs account for virtually all Ohio job growth during the recovery.
Specifically:- Prior to the start of the recession in 2007, 33% of Ohio jobs paid more than $20 per hour, 39% paid between $13.40 and $19.99, and just 28% paid $7.00-$13.39 hourly.
- At the end of 2013, low-wage positions had jumped to 36% of Ohio jobs, while medium-paying jobs fell to 34% and high-wage jobs dropped to 31%.
- As a share of the state’s economy, high and medium wage jobs dropped from 72% in 2007 to just 64% in 2013. Low wage jobs grew from 28% to 36% during that period.
“Last month, Ohio led the nation in job losses. Ohio’s job creation rate ranks 41st and has lagged the national average for 20 straight months. Unlike the rest of America, Ohio is still 140,000 jobs short of where we were before the recession hit. And if all this isn’t bad enough, today we learn that the few jobs Gov. Kasich has managed to create don’t pay a living wage or enough to sustain a family. Some miracle. Some recovery. “
Read the report.
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