Alabama has one of the nation’s biggest shares of working families who make below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, according to a report released this week by the Working Poor Families Project a national initiative focused on state workforce development policies.
Ten other states rank higher than Alabama in working family poverty: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.
Nationwide, the earnings gap between poor households and high-income families has grown in the aftermath of the recession.
“Far too many working Alabamians do not earn enough to meet basic needs for their families,” said Kimble Forrister, executive director of Arise Citizens Policy Project.
“Hard work should pay off in a better life and greater opportunities, but our economy has left too many families reaping only lower wages and less job security,” he said.
In 2011, 37 percent of Alabama’s 495,000 working families were considered low-income, according to a WPFP analysis of U.S. Census data. They were among 10.4 million nationwide.
The number of low income, working families nationwide grew last year, despite lower unemployment and an improving economy.
Job opportunities that pay middle-class wages have been scarce in the economic recovery, with much of the employment growth concentrated in lower-paying fields like retail and food service.
Alabama could create health care jobs and keep hundreds of thousands of low-income workers healthier and more productive by accepting the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, Forrister said.
Stronger state support for education and workforce development also would enhance their ability to get ahead, he said.
“Investments we make now in education and health care will pay off many times over in economic growth in the decades to come,” Forrister said. “We owe it to our children to act now to build a better future for them.”
Arise Citizens’ Policy Project is a nonprofit statewide citizens’ organization comprising 150 congregations and community groups that promote public policies to improve the lives of low-income Alabamians.