Who are the 99%? Demographics of Occupy Wall Street protesters show they aren't all unemployed liberals







The Occupy Wall Street movement is playing off stereotypes, though the protesters themselves come from all walks of life and classes of society.

Though they are all claiming to be the voice of the same group- the 99 per cent of Americans who are not classified as the country's wealthiest one per cent -they have been portrayed by the media as one type as well.



Pictures of young, hippy 20somethings, may be somewhat accurate, but the survey completed by a Manhattan professor begs observers to think twice before deeming all of the protesters liberal students and unemployed nay-sayers.

There are some suits: A survey of the participants shows that 30 per cent make over $50,000 per year, with two per cent even making over $150,000

Professor Hector Cordero-Guzman of Baruch College and business analyst Harrison Schultz examined the results of an online poll of 1,619 visitors to the OccupyWallStreet.org site on October 5 to paint a more accurate picture of the movement's demographics.



Initially, the movement was thought to be made up solely by idealistic students, though only a quarter of respondents are enrolled in school and only 10 per cent of those surveyed are full time students. Eight per cent of respondents only have a high school degree.



The picture of the group being young is fairly on the mark, with two thirds of the group identifying themselves as below 35 years old.



That said, 13 per cent are between the ages of 35 and 45, and a whopping 20 per cent are above 45- making them basically dinosaurs among the young kids.



One of the elders: Two thirds of participants are under 35 years old and only ten per cent are above the age of 45

Educated masses: Only a quarter of protesters are enrolled as students

Since the protests are pointed against the wealthy, many commentators have speculated that the protesters are simply unemployed and jealous.



Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain was among those naysayers.



'Part of it is jealousy…My parents never said that we hope the rich people lose something so that we can get something,' he said of the movement.

In fact, there is a sizeable portion of well-off protestors, diminishing Mr Cain's theory.



Nearly 15 per cent earn between $50,000 and $80,000 per year, and 13 per cent earn above $75,000.



That said, the percentage of the super rich in the protest somewhat mirrors that of the country as a whole, as only two per cent earn over $150,000.



Participants: The survey was compiled from 1,6,19 responses submitted online at the movement's website throughout the day of October 5

As with all stereotypes, there is a certain degree of truth- or in this case, 70 per cent, as that is the amount that earn less than $50,000.



Half of those surveyed are employed full time, and 20 per cent work part time. Of the remaining 30 per cent, nearly half- 13.1 per cent- identified as unemployed.

Again, this number isn't far off from the national figure, as the unemployment rate still hovers around nine per cent.



Lastly, the participants don't like to be stuck to the political poles, as only 27.3 per cent consider themselves Democrats and the remaining 70 per cent are independents.



Not surprisingly, only 2.4 per cent identified as Republicans.



Labels: Only 27.3 per cent identified as Democrats while 70 per cent were independents, and (unsurprisingly) only 2.4 per cent were Republicans



