MORE FAMILIES WORKING AT POVERTY LEVELS

(10/12/2004)

One in every five U.S. jobs pays less than a poverty-level wage for a family of four, according to a study by the nonpartisan Working Poor Families Project. In West Virginia, it may well be one in three. The result of so many low-paying jobs is that nearly 39 million Americans, including 20 million children, are members of "low-income working families" — with barely enough money to cover basic needs like housing, groceries and child care, according to the study. The study classified a "working family" as one in which there was one or more children and at least one family member had a job or was actively seeking work. Low-end service jobs have become West Virginia's job opportunities, like Wal-Mart being West Virginia's biggest employer. Even those jobs do not meet the need in West Virginia. About 1000 applicants are expected this week for 130 jobs open at a new Lowes home improvement store in Lewisburg. Beyond trying to stay current on bills, many of these folks also struggled to save up for a bigger home or for a child's college education, said one of the report's authors. "These 20 million children are the future of our workforce"."Their future economic abilities are at risk growing up in families that don't have the resources to support them."

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