The State of Working America, 2002-03

2. The State of Working America, 2002-03 • The labor market recession, which began in October 2000 remains with us. • This recession marks the end of the long economic boom of the 1990s, which brought the first, broad-based increase in wages and incomes in decades. • Low-wage workers especially benefited, as poverty rates dipped to historic lows. • The 1990s also brought, however, substantial increases in household debt. • The long-term trend towards increased hours of work continues and having a “working mom” remains a salient fact of American family life.

3. The 5.7% unemployment rate obscures the recession’s true depth • Employment losses are steeper during this recession than in the early 1990s recession. • Higher unemployment has been more broadly shared by education and by gender. • Long-term unemployment has increased, especially for women workers. • Slower wage growth is already occurring, especially among low-wage workers. • Expect to see increased inequality as a result.

4. The unemployment rate and its trend, 1947-2000

5. Monthly payroll employment growth from unemployment’s low-point over the past three recessions

6. Percentage point change in unemployment during recession

7. Percentage point change in unemployment during recession for men.

8. Percentage point change in unemployment during recession: women.

9. Nominal growth in average hourly earnings, 1995-2002

10. Nominal earnings growth for men,comparing first halves of the year

11. Nominal earnings growth for women,comparing first halves of the year

12. Full Employment: Love it when you've got it, miss it when it's gone… • What is it? Close to full utilization of economic resources, including the un- and underemployed. Corresponds to unemployment rate in the neighborhood of 4%. • Full employment led to sharp reversals in real wage and income growth; these gains were broad-based. • Full employment is not, however, a cure-all (especially as it was short-lived). Racial, gender, and poverty gaps still exist. • Inequality's growth slowed-an important source of poverty reduction-but it did not stop, as top continued to pull away.

13. Growth in median family income over the 1980's and 1990's

14. Ratio to white median family income by race/ethnicity,1947-00.

15. Low (20th percentile), middle (50th), and high-income (95th) growth

16. Ratio of average family income of the richest 5% of families to the poorest 20%

17. Real family income growth by quintile, 1947-73

18. Real family income growth by quintile, 1973-00

19. Changes in unemployment and income during recent recessions and recoveries

20. Poverty rate, 1959-2000

21. Change in poverty rates, 1979-2000, children under 6 by race/ethnicity

22. Employment rates for mothers, 1985-2000

23. Share of poor families with no work, by race/ethnicity, 1979-2000

24. Income components, low income single mothers, 1979-2000 Earnings Share Public Assistance Share

25. Income of low-income single mother families, gross and net of work expenses, 1979-2000

26. Real hourly wages of low-wage workers (20th percentile)

27. A little wealthier, much more indebted • Over the 1990s, even as the stock market boomed, most Americans held little or no stocks. • By 1998, only 36.3% of households owned more than $5,000 in stock either directly or indirectly, through a 401k or mutual fund. • The bottom 40% saw their stock market holdings rise by only 1.1%. • For many families, it was the run-up in debt that was most dramatic over the 1990s,

28. Change in assets and liabilities of middle-wealth households, 1989-98

29. Home ownership by race

30. Debt as a percent of personal disposable income, 1947-2001

31. Consumer bankruptcies per 1,000 adults

32. Americans are working longer • Over the 1990s, we saw a continuation of the trend toward longer hours of work. • This was driven by the increase in women’s labor supply, and in particular, there are more working mothers. • Nearly three-quarters of all moms work. • The average two-parent family has one worker at full-time and one at a little over 30 hours per week.

33. Annual work hours of middle income, married-couple families with children

34. Average annual hours worked among selected OECD countries, 2000

35. Change in average annual hours worked, selected OECD countries, 1979-2000

36. Percent of workers with access to paid vacation, by industry, 1997

37. Percent of workers with access to paid holidays, by industry, 1997

38. Americans are more likely to be poor • The United States has more children in poverty than in any other OECD nation. • The exit rate from poverty is much lower in the United States than in other OECD nations. • In the United States, entry into poverty is nearly twice as likely as other OECD nations to be associated with a new child in the family.

39. Percent of population remaining poor for at least three years, mid 1990s

40. Child poverty is higher in countries with lower social expenditures

41. Percent of wages replaced during maternity leave (weeks of paid leave)