The US has ‘replaced’ the job losses since the Great Recession but high paying employment has been replaced by McJobs, according to a report from the National Employment Law Project. The data shouldn’t be a surprise to economic watchers. The hope is that those jobs will come back with the economy on a firmer footing.
Higher-wage industries — like accounting and legal work — shed 3.6 million positions during the recession and have added only 2.6 million positions during the recovery. But lower-wage industries lost two million jobs, then added 3.8 million.
The study found about 40% of the increase in private sector employment was in restaurants and food services, administrative and waste services and retail trades.
At this point it’s tough to estimate the chance of a hike in the minimum wage but it threatens to be a major economic story in the year or two ahead. My guess is that Republicans block it but they might concede in an effort to improve their chances of winning over low-wage workers.