Posted on October 17, 2008

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Low-Income, Working Families Face Growing Struggles, Report Finds

As families from all walks of life confront growing economic uncertainty, the financial struggles of low-income working families have gone from bad to worse, a new report from the Working Poor Families Project finds.

Based on U.S. Census data, the report, Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short (8 pages, PDF), found that between 2002 and 2006 the number of low-income (below 200 percent of the federal poverty level) working households rose from 9.2 million to nearly 9.6 million, while the earnings gap between those families and the nation's wealthier households increased by almost 10 percent. As a result, nearly one in four working families with children in the United States now qualify as low-income.

The report also found that the majority of low-income working families are in a constant struggle to meet basic needs, even though 72 percent of them have at least one employed adult, more than half are headed by married couples, and only 25 percent receive food-stamp assistance. The report's recommendations include increasing state-level investment in programs that advance the job skills of adult workers; developing state policies that strengthen wages and employment benefits; increasing the number of living-wage jobs; and conducting regular assessments of the challenges facing low-income working families.

Funded by the Annie E. Casey, Ford, Joyce, and Mott foundations, the Working Poor Families Project was launched in 2002 to help state-level nonprofits advocate for public policies that promote economic success among working families. The project operates in twenty-four states and the District of Columbia.

"We must take action on a number of fronts, including education, workforce development, income and workplace supports," said Brandon Roberts, public policy consultant with Brandon Roberts & Associates, which coordinates the project. "It's the only way that we'll help low-income families, and ultimately, the entire country, realize the American Dream of economic mobility and security."

“Report Highlights Growing Struggles of Poor, Working Families.” C.S. Mott Foundation Press Release 10/14/08.

Primary Subject: Human Services
Secondary Subject(s): Economic Crisis
Location(s): National

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