Report: 'Low-Wage' Jobs Increased 30% in 2011

A new study finds low-wage jobs, those that pay $12 an hour or less, have increased by more than 30% in 2011 as the number of available jobs in the country has decreased.

Women Employed and Action Now Institute commissioned the report, which found the percentage of employees “ages 18 to 64 working in low-wage jobs rose from 23.8 percent in 2011 to 31.2 percent last year.”

Here are some other findings from the study: the share of households in which a low-wage worker was the sole breadwinner rose from 45.7% to 56.7%, and low-wage workers who were 30 years of age or older rose from 54% in 2001 to 57.4% in 2011. 

Marc Doussard, the author of the report, said the information was “compelling evidence that as the number of jobs shrinks, people are forced to chase lower and lower paying jobs,” and it was “a wake up call” that low-wage jobs that used to be the exception are becoming the rule in America.