Georgia's Middle Class Workers Left Out of Recovery

ATLANTA, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Georgia's mid-wage industries suffered 52 percent of private sector job losses during the recession, but account for only 15 percent of gains during the recovery.

That is one of the key findings of a new report from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, "Bad Times for Good Jobs: Georgia's Shrinking Middle Class Opportunity."

"The dramatic downturn in fortune for Georgia's middle class workers is hard to see when you just look at the overall employment gains during the recovery," said Wesley Tharpe, policy analyst and author of the report. "But if you delve deeper into industry trends you find Georgia's economy is struggling to create the types of opportunities needed to sustain a strong middle class."

The new research divides state-level data for 97 industries into three categories, low-, mid- and high-wage. The tiers are based on how much each industry pays an average worker. The analysis compares employment trends in those categories during the Great Recession from 2007 to 2010 to the economic recovery from 2010 to 2013. The analysis shows:

• The recession hit workers in mid-wage industries hardest and they are faring the worst in the recovery. Georgia's mid-wage industries accounted for 52 percent of private sector job losses during the recession, but only 15 percent of gains during the recovery. Georgia's private sector held about 138,100 fewer jobs in mid-wage industries in 2013 than before the recession.
• Low- and high-wage industries account for most of Georgia's job growth in the recovery. Low- and high-wage industries in Georgia recovered jobs lost during the recession. Low- and high-wage industries account for a combined 85 percent of Georgia's net job growth from 2010 to 2013.
• State and local government budget cuts caused additional job losses in the public sector. Government professions, such as teachers and police officer, are a historical source of middle-class jobs with decent wages. But Georgia's state and local governments employed 35,700 fewer workers in 2013 than in 2007.
  

To download the study: http://gbpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Bad-Times-for-Good-Jobs-July-2014.pdf

About Georgia Budget and Policy Institute:

Founded in 2004, the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit center of research and analysis focused on the state of Georgia. Visit www.gbpi.org for more information

SOURCE Georgia Budget and Policy Institute