1. Developing Opportunities for Low Wage Workers Evelyn Ganzglass Center for Law and Social Policy eganzglass@clasp.org www.clasp.org

2. NGA State Liaisons Milwaukee, July 31, 2006 28 million low wage workers Poverty level for family of 4 = $18, 400 yr 9/hr in 2003  Nearly 1 in 4 workers 58% women 7% teenagers 58% white 24% > high school diploma 37% high school diploma 25% some college Average wage: $7.09 50% workers earned>$14.15/hr (2004)

3. NGA State Liaisons Milwaukee, July 31, 2006 Minorities & women over-represented in low-wage labor market  31% of all African American workers are low income  40% of Latino workers  20% of White workers  30% of women workers, more among minorities

4. NGA State Liaisons Milwaukee, July 31, 2006 Characteristics of low wage jobs  Decline in real wages ( Families working 500 more hrs/yr than in the late ’70s to make ends meet)  Few, if any benefits (20% in bottom quintile have employer-provided health benefits)  No leave, paid or otherwise  Irregular hours; just in time staffing;24/7  Intermittent employment  Vulnerable to out-sourcing and technology  Limited opportunities for career advancement (loss of middle income jobs)

5. NGA State Liaisons Milwaukee, July 31, 2006 Workers stuck in low wage jobs Probability of prime-age minimum wage worker advancing over 3 years (1992-2003)  37% staying in low-wage jobs  39% moving to better job  Female: 41% staying; 33% moving up  Foreign born: 47%; 29%  Less than high school: 49%; 31%  College grad: 20%; 62% Boushey, CEPR using SIPP panels

6. NGA State Liaisons Milwaukee, July 31, 2006 Industry and Occupation Matters  Job hopping in similar jobs doesn’t help, but  Moving out of (or never working in) industry with high concentration of low wage workers does  So does working in a union job and  Working in a state with higher than federal minimum wage (21 states,4 cities, 140 living wage initiatives) Boushey, CEPR using SIPP panels

7. NGA State Liaisons Milwaukee, July 31, 2006 Education important, but not enough  Economy is producing 25-30% fewer good jobs than 25 years ago (CEPR)  Since mid 1970’s real median income hasn’t kept up with productivity growth (22%:80%) (EPI)  BLS 2002-2012: Of the 15 fastest growing occupations, 6 are in the lowest quintile; 3 in the highest

8. NGA State Liaisons Milwaukee, July 31, 2006 TANF Recipients  Working Poor  More than 50% decline in caseloads  Increase in employment of TANF recipients: 71% worked at some point in 1 st year after leaving welfare, but only 37% worked full year  In Wisconsin, most families remained poor 6 years post TANF; only 16% had earnings above fed poverty line; 60% were extremely poor (25% below federal poverty line)

9. NGA State Liaisons Milwaukee, July 31, 2006 WIA services to TANF and other low income populations are falling short 2000 Intensive 2004 Intensive 2000 Training 2004 Training Low-income74.766.982.465.5% Public Assistance Recipients15.410.716.611% Single Parents25.918.834.524.2% Limited English-language Proficiency9.66.610.54.1% No High School Diploma/GED22.821.517.814.0% Share of Disadvantaged Adults Served has Declined

10. NGA State Liaisons Milwaukee, July 31, 2006 WIA can help low income workers access better jobs by:  Increasing investments in initial and upgrade training  Targeting employer services to high road employers (reduce turnover, improve HR functions, front-line supervision)  Targeting job search/job job placement services on better jobs/employers  Using on-the-job training subsidies  Partnering with TANF

11. NGA State Liaisons Milwaukee, July 31, 2006 Increase focus on job retention & advancement  Retention and advancement strategies show some promise  Income supplements increase employment, earnings, retention, education/ behavior of younger children  National Work Advancement and Support Center Demonstration (Dayton, San Diego, Bridgeport +2)

12. NGA State Liaisons Milwaukee, July 31, 2006 Support job retention & advancement by increasing access to work supports  Among working families with children with income below 200% of poverty in 2001*: 27% received food stamps 57% had a child or children receiving Medicaid/SCHIP 27% had a parent receiving Medicaid 10% received child care assistance 38% received none of these benefits 84% were eligible for EITC o37 % of single mothers receive child support *Source: Zedlewski, et. al, Is there a System Supporting Low-Income Working Families? (Urban Institute)

13. NGA State Liaisons Milwaukee, July 31, 2006 WIA can help improve job quality for low income workers through:  Sectoral strategies to strengthen industry competitiveness, improve job quality and build career pathways  Attaching job quality standards to economic and workforce development contracts/incentives for private industry to take the high road  Partnering with local economic development in disadvantaged communities (EZ/EC, CDFIs)