June 9, 2008
Bad Jobs, Economic Insecurity and the Importance of Public Work Supports in West Virginia
by Robert Diznoff
Fewer than 1 in 4 jobs in West Virginia are good jobs, according to a recent report published by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.[i] Due to this low level of job quality, many working West Virginians suffer from economic insecurity, which is the inability to financially make ends meet. This poor economic environment highlights the importance of public work supports as an integral safety net for many West Virginian families.
Only 21.5 percent of jobs in West Virginia are categorized as “good jobs,” while 33.5 percent are categorized as “bad jobs.” As a result, close to 31 percent of West Virginians in working families[ii] live in economic insecurity.
The report incorporates a modern approach to measuring job quality and economic insecurity that gives a realistic view of the struggles many working West Virginians currently face. A “good job” must: pay at least $17 per hour; offer health insurance; and, offer a retirement plan.
In contrast, a bad job is one that meets none of the “good job” criteria.
Instead of the federal poverty line to measure economic insecurity, basic family budgets are used to determine whether working families have sufficient income to make ends meet.
Basic family budgets take into account the actual costs of goods and services needed to have a decent standard of living as well as the variations in these costs depending on where one lives. In West Virginia, the median basic family budget threshold is $2,099 per month, or $25,188 annually.[iii] This is only slightly lower than the state’s household median income.[iv]
Public Work Supports Help West Virginians Make Ends Meet
While in a typical state 5 percent of people in working families are able to reach their basic family budget threshold with the assistance of public work supports, in West Virginia 9 percent of working families rely on these benefits to reach economic security.
Public work supports are benefits for workers that include the Earned Income Tax Credit, food stamps, health insurance provided by Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and housing assistance.
What West Virginia Can Do: State Solutions
State policy choices that can be made to improve the quality of jobs and to decrease the rate of economic insecurity in West Virginia include:
- implementing a state minimum wage that adjusts for inflation;
- implementing a state Earned Income Tax Credit to supplement the federal credit; and,
- ensuring that all economically insecure families who are eligible for work supports are enrolled.
Diznoff is an intern with the WV Center on Budget and Policy and is currently enrolled at the University of Miami School of Law.
End Notes
[i] Shawn Fremstad, Rebecca Ray and Hye Jin Rho, “Working Families and Economic Insecurity in the States: The role of Job Quality and Work Supports,” Center for Economic and Policy Research, May 2008.
[ii] “Working families” is defined as one and two-person households without children, and households with up to three children.
[iii] This is the median of all family types included in the report, which includes one and two-person households without children, and households with up to three children.
[iv] $35,059, United States Census Bureau, 2007.