Policy & Data Briefs from WPFP

Low-Income Working Families: Rising Inequality Despite Economic Recovery

A new report shows that despite strong job growth since the end of the Great Recession, many working families are worse off that they were in 2007, before the Great Recession began. The latest U.S. Census data shows that three out of every 10 working families were low-income in 2016. In addition, income and wealth gaps between working families at the top and bottom of the economic ladder remain at all-time highs.

The report, produced jointly PRB and The Working Poor Families Project, also found disturbing growing inequality among racial and ethnic groups. Six in 10 low-income working families are minorities. And minority working families are twice as likely to be low-income than non-minority families. As Tax Day approaches, the report calls on policymakers and employers to expand programs and strengthen benefits that help low-income working parents and their children.

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Low-Income Working Families: The Racial/Ethnic Divide

There is a large and growing economic divide among America’s working families, with whites and Asians at the top and other racial/ethnic groups falling behind. While low-income working families comprise close to one-third of all working families in America, the significant differences among racial/ethnic groups present a critical challenge to ensuring economic growth and bringing opportunities to all workers, families, and communities across the United States.

In this brief, the Working Poor Families Project highlights Census Bureau data on low-income working families and differences across racial/ethnic groups. Recognizing that public policy can play a critical role in our future prosperity by reversing these conditions, we recommend state government policies and actions that would improve conditions for millions of lower-income parents and their children, reduce inequality and promote economic growth by ensuring a well-qualified workforce and a sufficient number of jobs with wages and benefits that support a family.

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States Continue to Increase Access to Workplace Retirement Savings Programs

A substantial number of working families are not saving enough to meet their needs in retirement. Even before the coronavirus hit the U.S., decimating the economy and throwing millions out of work, data showed that between 40% and 75% of working families were at risk of not having enough in retirement savings to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living.

A new policy brief by the Working Poor Families Project explores legislation and policies that states have put in place to help more workers save for retirement. The brief is an update to a 2016 WPFP brief about increasing access to workplace retirement savings programs. As the country struggles through the pandemic, Americans continue to need to accumulate more savings to weather the current and future economic downturns and prepare for retirement.

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