America’s New Jobs Pay Less than the Old Ones
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Hemera/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Critics of the economic recovery who’ve called it a “soft” rebound following the Great Recession may have some ammunition to back up their claims based on an analysis released Monday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
On the positive side, all the jobs lost during the steep economic downturn from 2007 to 2009 have since been recovered.
However, the new jobs that have replaced the old ones pay an average of 23 percent less than what people were earning before the recession.
That explains why the U.S. median annual household income is lower than it was a decade ago.
According to the Conference of Mayors report, many of the higher-paying manufacturing and construction jobs have gone by the wayside. In their place are positions in the hospitality and healthcare fields, which have always paid less.
Americans who stayed in the top 20 percent of earners since 2005 have enjoyed 60 percent of the nation’s income gains while those at the bottom 40 percent only managed a 6.6 percent boost in income.
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