The problem for the U.S. economy is not just adding enough jobs—it’s adding enough “good jobs” to replace those lost during the Great Recession.

Since the economic recovery began, low-wage occupations ($7.69 to $13.83 an hour) have made up 58% of all job growth, even though these jobs represented only 21% of job losses during the downturn.

What the country lost the most was middle-wage positions that paid $13.84 to $21.13 an hour. These accounted for 60% of layoffs from 2008 to 2010. So far, middle-wage jobs have made up only 22% of employment growth.

As far as high-paying opportunities, the country has made up what it lost during the recession. These constituted 19% of job losses, and now have accounted for 20% of new positions.

“The overarching message here is we don’t just have a jobs deficit; we have a ‘good jobs’ deficit,” Annette Bernhardt, a policy co-director at the National Employment Law Project, a liberal research and advocacy group, told The New York Times.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Majority of New Jobs Pay Low Wages, Study Finds (by Catherine Rampell, New York Times)