Lower-Wage Job
A Lower-Wage Job is a job with a wage that is relatively low (relative to a mid-wage job).
- AKA: Low-Wage Task, Low-Pay Job.
- Context:
- It can (typically) be performed by a Low-Wage Worker.
- It can (typically) be a Low-Skill Job.
- It can (typically) be a Minimal-Benefits Job (and expose workers to under-insurance).
- It can (typically) lead to a low Savings Rate.
- It can (typically) be a Low-Status Job (with little negotiation power).
- It can (often) be a Minimum-Wage Job.
- It can range from being a Temporary Low-Wage Job to a Long-term Low-Wage Job.
- It can range from (typically) being a Private-Sector Low-Wage Job to being a Public-Sector Low-Wage Job..
- Example(s):
- a Low-Wage Service Job, such as Home Care Support.
- a Fast-Food Job.
- Stock Replenishment.
- …
- Counter-Example(s):
- a Mid-Wage Job, such as a bookkeeping.
- a Higher-Wage Job, such as medical diagnosis, and computer programming.
- See: Minimum-Wage Policy, Temporary Work.
References
2014
- (Boak, 2014) ⇒ Josh Boak. (2014). “Low-wage workers struggle to find middle-pay jobs." Associated Press. March 12, 2014
- QUOTE: … One such category includes bookkeepers and executive secretaries, with average wages of $16.54 an hour, according to the Labor Department. Since the mid-1980s, the economy has shed these middle-income jobs — a trend that's become more pronounced with the recoveries that have followed each subsequent recession, according to research by Henry Siu, an economist at the University of British Columbia, and Duke University economist Nir Jaimovich. …
… That said, the data show why it's harder now for workers to rise into higher-paying fields despite an economic recovery now nearly 5 years old. About 1.9 million office and administrative support jobs were lost to the Great Recession, according to government data. That includes 714,370 executive secretaries with annual incomes averaging $50,220. And 252,240 fewer bookkeepers with average incomes of $36,640. By comparison, the number of lower-wage jobs increased: The Labor Department says restaurants added 777,800 jobs since the recession began, general merchandise stores 345,600. …
… "You see adults moving into these relatively generic services (jobs) that don't require expertise, just dexterity, attention and showing up," said MIT economist David Autor. “You want people to be in jobs that have good trajectories. I can imagine you only get so efficient as a checkout clerk or a stocker."
- QUOTE: … One such category includes bookkeepers and executive secretaries, with average wages of $16.54 an hour, according to the Labor Department. Since the mid-1980s, the economy has shed these middle-income jobs — a trend that's become more pronounced with the recoveries that have followed each subsequent recession, according to research by Henry Siu, an economist at the University of British Columbia, and Duke University economist Nir Jaimovich. …
2010
- (Dube et al., 2010) ⇒ Arindrajit Dube, T William Lester, and Michael Reich. (2010). “Minimum Wage Effects Across State Borders: Estimates Using Contiguous Counties." In: The Review of Economics and Statistics, 92(4). doi:10.1162/REST_a_00039