Bend News

Report Highlights Northwest's Employment Blues

Gainful Employment Can Be Hard To Bag In Oregon

By Joseph Friedrichs, 2-06-07

Oregon and Montana ranked the lowest of four Western states for jobs available to single adults that generate enough income to make a living. Only 63 percent of employment opportunities in each state pay a living wage for single adults, according to the findings of the annual study “Searching for Work That Pays: 2007 Northwest Job Gap Study.”

Using an analysis of public data from a range of state and federal sources, the study calculates a basic family budget for different family structures in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Based on this “living wage,” the study then estimates the number and proportion of current jobs in the Northwest that provide a sufficient wage to support an individual or a family’s basic needs without relying on public assistance.

The findings show that working full time is often not enough to maintain an adequate standard of living. Even dual-income families, where both adults are using all of the resources at their disposal to earn a living, might find they are not earning enough.

Perhaps the most staggering statistic for Central Oregonians is that for every job opening that pays a living wage in the area, there are as many as 20 job seekers, according to the study, released Monday by the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations. 

The study compares the number of available living-wage jobs to the number of job seekers and calculates the percentage of available living-wage jobs, using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The organization defines a living wage as a wage that “allows families to meet basic needs such as food, housing, utilities, transportation, health care, child care, clothing and other personal items, some savings, and taxes--without public assistance.“ Because costs vary, the living wage also varies for each state and for different family configurations.

In Oregon, 84 percent of open jobs pay less than a living wage for a household of three, a single adult with two children. A living wage for this household is $23.40 an hour. Seventy-two percent of open jobs pay less than a living wage, $18.48 an hour, for a working adult with one child, the report found. Only 59 percent of open jobs pay a living wage, $11.38 an hour, for a single worker with no dependents.

“When families are unable to earn living wages,” the authors of the report said, “many are forced to make impossible choices between adequate health care, balanced nutrition, and paying bills.”

Even as economic reports herald a strong and growing economy, this prosperity continues to be a false promise for many families, for whom living wage work remains out of reach, the report said.

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