Only 38% of the jobs in largest 204 metro areas are middle class or professional.

[deanrd]

The Opportunity Index: Ranking Opportunity in Metropolitan America – Third Way

To find job quality in each MSA, the Opportunity Index combines data from the Labor Department’s Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) and a modified version of the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator to categorize each available job into one of four types:

1. Fewer than half of all jobs afford a middle class or better life.

Based on our model, only 38% of the jobs in the 204 most populous metro areas examined can be considered middle class or professional jobs. Within that share, 23% are middle class jobs and 15% are professional jobs. A stunningly high 30% of jobs in America’s metros are hardship jobs, failing to provide a decent standard of living for a single adult living on their own. Another 32%, the largest share, are living-wage jobs, enough for a worker to get by but not enough to meet commonly held expectations for a middle class life.

2. Three out of the four closest battleground states that went for Trump struggled to provide opportunity. As a whole, the Midwest had mixed results. Some states performed well, but others, like Michigan and Pennsylvania that swung to Trump in 2016, did not.

3. Twelve of the bottom 20 MSAs for opportunity are in the South

The opportunity to earn a stable and secure life has been at the heart of the American Dream. However, technology and globalization have made opportunity more abundant for some and less abundant for many others. There is too little opportunity in America today and its dearth is undoubtedly related to the polarization and divisions apparent in the country.

---------------------

This is about a half hour read. Very interesting. They go through definitions and calculations and cover all methodology.

Kind of explains why Republicans are staying away from the economy they are trying to take credit for.

 

[Oddball]

So, you can't argue that there aren't more jobs, but now they're not good enough.

Thanks for once again reminding us all what a bunch of ingrates and snobs leftists are.

 

[deanrd]

So now it's not that there are more jobs, now they're not good enough.

Thanks for once again reminding us all what ingrates and snobs leftists are.

The Middle Class and Professionals are "ingrates and snobs"?
Hardship jobs make you proud?

Sad if washing dishes and delivering pizza is all you aspire to.

How do you even function?

It's a mystery for another day.

 

[Oddball]

So now it's not that there are more jobs, now they're not good enough.

Thanks for once again reminding us all what ingrates and snobs leftists are.

The Middle Class and Professionals are "ingrates and snobs"?
Hardship jobs make you proud?

Sad if washing dishes and delivering pizza is all you aspire to.

How do you even function?

It's a mystery for another day.

Shove it up your ass, ungrateful snob.

 

[Frankeneinstein]

The Opportunity Index: Ranking Opportunity in Metropolitan America – Third Way

To find job quality in each MSA, the Opportunity Index combines data from the Labor Department’s Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) and a modified version of the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator to categorize each available job into one of four types:

1. Fewer than half of all jobs afford a middle class or better life.

Based on our model, only 38% of the jobs in the 204 most populous metro areas examined can be considered middle class or professional jobs. Within that share, 23% are middle class jobs and 15% are professional jobs. A stunningly high 30% of jobs in America’s metros are hardship jobs, failing to provide a decent standard of living for a single adult living on their own. Another 32%, the largest share, are living-wage jobs, enough for a worker to get by but not enough to meet commonly held expectations for a middle class life.

2. Three out of the four closest battleground states that went for Trump struggled to provide opportunity. As a whole, the Midwest had mixed results. Some states performed well, but others, like Michigan and Pennsylvania that swung to Trump in 2016, did not.

3. Twelve of the bottom 20 MSAs for opportunity are in the South

The opportunity to earn a stable and secure life has been at the heart of the American Dream. However, technology and globalization have made opportunity more abundant for some and less abundant for many others. There is too little opportunity in America today and its dearth is undoubtedly related to the polarization and divisions apparent in the country.

---------------------

This is about a half hour read. Very interesting. They go through definitions and calculations and cover all methodology.

Kind of explains why Republicans are staying away from the economy they are trying to take credit for.

fake news

 

[Indeependent]

The Opportunity Index: Ranking Opportunity in Metropolitan America – Third Way

To find job quality in each MSA, the Opportunity Index combines data from the Labor Department’s Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) and a modified version of the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator to categorize each available job into one of four types:

1. Fewer than half of all jobs afford a middle class or better life.

Based on our model, only 38% of the jobs in the 204 most populous metro areas examined can be considered middle class or professional jobs. Within that share, 23% are middle class jobs and 15% are professional jobs. A stunningly high 30% of jobs in America’s metros are hardship jobs, failing to provide a decent standard of living for a single adult living on their own. Another 32%, the largest share, are living-wage jobs, enough for a worker to get by but not enough to meet commonly held expectations for a middle class life.

2. Three out of the four closest battleground states that went for Trump struggled to provide opportunity. As a whole, the Midwest had mixed results. Some states performed well, but others, like Michigan and Pennsylvania that swung to Trump in 2016, did not.

3. Twelve of the bottom 20 MSAs for opportunity are in the South

The opportunity to earn a stable and secure life has been at the heart of the American Dream. However, technology and globalization have made opportunity more abundant for some and less abundant for many others. There is too little opportunity in America today and its dearth is undoubtedly related to the polarization and divisions apparent in the country.

---------------------

This is about a half hour read. Very interesting. They go through definitions and calculations and cover all methodology.

Kind of explains why Republicans are staying away from the economy they are trying to take credit for.

How many hard science graduates are washing dishes?

 

[theHawk]

The Opportunity Index: Ranking Opportunity in Metropolitan America – Third Way

To find job quality in each MSA, the Opportunity Index combines data from the Labor Department’s Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) and a modified version of the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator to categorize each available job into one of four types:

1. Fewer than half of all jobs afford a middle class or better life.

Based on our model, only 38% of the jobs in the 204 most populous metro areas examined can be considered middle class or professional jobs. Within that share, 23% are middle class jobs and 15% are professional jobs. A stunningly high 30% of jobs in America’s metros are hardship jobs, failing to provide a decent standard of living for a single adult living on their own. Another 32%, the largest share, are living-wage jobs, enough for a worker to get by but not enough to meet commonly held expectations for a middle class life.

2. Three out of the four closest battleground states that went for Trump struggled to provide opportunity. As a whole, the Midwest had mixed results. Some states performed well, but others, like Michigan and Pennsylvania that swung to Trump in 2016, did not.

3. Twelve of the bottom 20 MSAs for opportunity are in the South

The opportunity to earn a stable and secure life has been at the heart of the American Dream. However, technology and globalization have made opportunity more abundant for some and less abundant for many others. There is too little opportunity in America today and its dearth is undoubtedly related to the polarization and divisions apparent in the country.

---------------------

This is about a half hour read. Very interesting. They go through definitions and calculations and cover all methodology.

Kind of explains why Republicans are staying away from the economy they are trying to take credit for.

After reading the headlines today about so many new jobs, including manufacturing jobs and the big wage increases, I knew there would be some regressive blowhard here to spin it as bad news.

Thanks deany, you always come through.

 

[martybegan]

So now it's not that there are more jobs, now they're not good enough.

Thanks for once again reminding us all what ingrates and snobs leftists are.

The Middle Class and Professionals are "ingrates and snobs"?
Hardship jobs make you proud?

Sad if washing dishes and delivering pizza is all you aspire to.

How do you even function?

It's a mystery for another day.

No, what you want is washing dishes and delivering pizza to pay just enough to make a person not want to better themselves.

 

[Oddball]

No, what you want is washing dishes and delivering pizza to pay just enough to make a person not want to better themselves.

The swill in the OP also ignores the fact that more jobs further up the food chain (i.e. management) begets even more jobs amongst the supporting troops as a matter of course.

Fact remains that rderp is a flaming ungrateful snob.

 

[Wyatt earp]

The Opportunity Index: Ranking Opportunity in Metropolitan America – Third Way

To find job quality in each MSA, the Opportunity Index combines data from the Labor Department’s Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) and a modified version of the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator to categorize each available job into one of four types:

1. Fewer than half of all jobs afford a middle class or better life.

Based on our model, only 38% of the jobs in the 204 most populous metro areas examined can be considered middle class or professional jobs. Within that share, 23% are middle class jobs and 15% are professional jobs. A stunningly high 30% of jobs in America’s metros are hardship jobs, failing to provide a decent standard of living for a single adult living on their own. Another 32%, the largest share, are living-wage jobs, enough for a worker to get by but not enough to meet commonly held expectations for a middle class life.

2. Three out of the four closest battleground states that went for Trump struggled to provide opportunity. As a whole, the Midwest had mixed results. Some states performed well, but others, like Michigan and Pennsylvania that swung to Trump in 2016, did not.

3. Twelve of the bottom 20 MSAs for opportunity are in the South

The opportunity to earn a stable and secure life has been at the heart of the American Dream. However, technology and globalization have made opportunity more abundant for some and less abundant for many others. There is too little opportunity in America today and its dearth is undoubtedly related to the polarization and divisions apparent in the country.

---------------------

This is about a half hour read. Very interesting. They go through definitions and calculations and cover all methodology.

Kind of explains why Republicans are staying away from the economy they are trying to take credit for.

Then quit electing democrats .duh


.

 

[deanrd]

The Opportunity Index: Ranking Opportunity in Metropolitan America – Third Way

To find job quality in each MSA, the Opportunity Index combines data from the Labor Department’s Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) and a modified version of the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator to categorize each available job into one of four types:

1. Fewer than half of all jobs afford a middle class or better life.

Based on our model, only 38% of the jobs in the 204 most populous metro areas examined can be considered middle class or professional jobs. Within that share, 23% are middle class jobs and 15% are professional jobs. A stunningly high 30% of jobs in America’s metros are hardship jobs, failing to provide a decent standard of living for a single adult living on their own. Another 32%, the largest share, are living-wage jobs, enough for a worker to get by but not enough to meet commonly held expectations for a middle class life.

2. Three out of the four closest battleground states that went for Trump struggled to provide opportunity. As a whole, the Midwest had mixed results. Some states performed well, but others, like Michigan and Pennsylvania that swung to Trump in 2016, did not.

3. Twelve of the bottom 20 MSAs for opportunity are in the South

The opportunity to earn a stable and secure life has been at the heart of the American Dream. However, technology and globalization have made opportunity more abundant for some and less abundant for many others. There is too little opportunity in America today and its dearth is undoubtedly related to the polarization and divisions apparent in the country.

---------------------

This is about a half hour read. Very interesting. They go through definitions and calculations and cover all methodology.

Kind of explains why Republicans are staying away from the economy they are trying to take credit for.

After reading the headlines today about so many new jobs, including manufacturing jobs and the big wage increases, I knew there would be some regressive blowhard here to spin it as bad news.

Thanks deany, you always come through.

Post some links.

 

[deanrd]

The Opportunity Index: Ranking Opportunity in Metropolitan America – Third Way

To find job quality in each MSA, the Opportunity Index combines data from the Labor Department’s Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) and a modified version of the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator to categorize each available job into one of four types:

1. Fewer than half of all jobs afford a middle class or better life.

Based on our model, only 38% of the jobs in the 204 most populous metro areas examined can be considered middle class or professional jobs. Within that share, 23% are middle class jobs and 15% are professional jobs. A stunningly high 30% of jobs in America’s metros are hardship jobs, failing to provide a decent standard of living for a single adult living on their own. Another 32%, the largest share, are living-wage jobs, enough for a worker to get by but not enough to meet commonly held expectations for a middle class life.

2. Three out of the four closest battleground states that went for Trump struggled to provide opportunity. As a whole, the Midwest had mixed results. Some states performed well, but others, like Michigan and Pennsylvania that swung to Trump in 2016, did not.

3. Twelve of the bottom 20 MSAs for opportunity are in the South

The opportunity to earn a stable and secure life has been at the heart of the American Dream. However, technology and globalization have made opportunity more abundant for some and less abundant for many others. There is too little opportunity in America today and its dearth is undoubtedly related to the polarization and divisions apparent in the country.

---------------------

This is about a half hour read. Very interesting. They go through definitions and calculations and cover all methodology.

Kind of explains why Republicans are staying away from the economy they are trying to take credit for.

Then quit electing democrats .duh


.

That makes no sense.

 

[deanrd]

So now it's not that there are more jobs, now they're not good enough.

Thanks for once again reminding us all what ingrates and snobs leftists are.

The Middle Class and Professionals are "ingrates and snobs"?
Hardship jobs make you proud?

Sad if washing dishes and delivering pizza is all you aspire to.

How do you even function?

It's a mystery for another day.

Shove it up your ass, ungrateful snob.

Snob?

I joined the military in 1975. When I served my entire term honorably, I used the GI bill to go to college.
Even with the Company I worked at paying ten grand a year along with the GI bill, I still owed $56,000.00 because preparing for a good job costs money.

Then I paid all that off, saved and retired at 63.

If I'm a snob, I'm the hardest working snob you ever saw.

 

[deanrd]

62% of Americans have either a living wage job or a hardship job.

Living wage means as a single adult, you can only support yourself and no one else.

Hardship means you can't even support yourself without help.

That's the reality.

That's what Republicans, in their ignorance, support.

 

[theHawk]

62% of Americans have either a living wage job or a hardship job.

Living wage means as a single adult, you can only support yourself and no one else.

Hardship means you can't even support yourself without help.

That's the reality.

That's what Republicans, in their ignorance, support.

You’re so full of shit.

Wages Rise at Fastest Rate in Nearly a Decade as Hiring Jumps

 

[deanrd]

62% of Americans have either a living wage job or a hardship job.

Living wage means as a single adult, you can only support yourself and no one else.

Hardship means you can't even support yourself without help.

That's the reality.

That's what Republicans, in their ignorance, support.

You’re so full of shit.

Wages Rise at Fastest Rate in Nearly a Decade as Hiring Jumps

You post a link you need to subscribe to read?

The current rate of inflation is between 2 and 2.5%. So wage increase of 3.7 is actually 1.5 or less.

Current US Inflation Rates: 2008-2018

If you are going to play with the big boys, provide some actual data.

 

[fbj]

I only prefer Office jobs

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

So now it's not that there are more jobs, now they're not good enough.

Thanks for once again reminding us all what ingrates and snobs leftists are.

The Middle Class and Professionals are "ingrates and snobs"?
Hardship jobs make you proud?

Sad if washing dishes and delivering pizza is all you aspire to.

How do you even function?

It's a mystery for another day.

Ya dumbass!! That just reflects the the job market in general.
There will always be more worker bees than bosses.

 

[deanrd]

So now it's not that there are more jobs, now they're not good enough.

Thanks for once again reminding us all what ingrates and snobs leftists are.

The Middle Class and Professionals are "ingrates and snobs"?
Hardship jobs make you proud?

Sad if washing dishes and delivering pizza is all you aspire to.

How do you even function?

It's a mystery for another day.

Ya dumbass!! That just reflects the the job market in general.
There will always be more worker bees than bosses.

I’m talking about 7.1 million unfilled jobs. I’m talking about the fact there are more jobs then there are people looking for jobs. I don’t know what you’re talking about.

 

[Manonthestreet]

Weren't Democrats the proponents of the service economy......