facts and nonpartisan perspectives on the issues

IN THIS ISSUE

Low-Income Working Families

With the economy a top issue for voters this election year, the Urban Institute can offer information about the nation’s most vulnerable households, including low-income working families. These families are above the poverty line but still struggle to make ends meet. A sudden job loss or health crisis could derail them.

Institute researchers can provide facts and nonpartisan perspectives on who these families are and what can be done to help them thrive.

KEY FACTS

• Low income is generally defined as twice the federal poverty level, or $40,888 for a family of four in 2006.
• There were 11 million low-income working families at the beginning of 2007.
• Sixty-one percent, or 6.7 million, of these families had at least one full-time, year-round worker in 2006.
• The median wage for workers in low-income families was $9.62 an hour in 2006, compared with $17.55 for workers in all families.
• Low-income workers with children are more likely to be young, Hispanic, live in one-parent families, and report being in fair or poor health, compared with the average worker.
• In 2006, only 36 percent of the heads of household in low-income working families had any education beyond high school.
• One-third of families with children lack sufficient income to cover the basic costs of everyday living, including housing, food, child care, health insurance, transportation, and taxes.
• Work supports, such as tax credits, food stamps, and child care subsidies, help but often don’t close the gap between earnings and basic needs.

Join the Urban Institute for a Thursday's Child forum on

“Where Credit Is Due:

Why Tax Policy for Low-Income Working Families Isn't Working (and What Can Be Done about It)”

Thursday, March 13, 9:00–10:30 a.m. (ET)

Register online to attend or listen to the live audio webcast

Additional analysis is available in UI reports:

• Low-Income Workers and Their Employers: Characteristics and Challenges—Gregory Acs and Austin Nichols
• Framework for a New Safety Net for Low-Income Working Families—Olivia Golden, Pamela Winston, Gregory Acs, and Ajay Chaudry
• The Balance Sheets of Low-Income Households: What We Know about Their Assets and Liabilities—Adam Carasso and Signe-Mary McKernan
• Forthcoming papers: Urban Institute researchers are examining policy options for a “new safety net” for low-income working families. In June, we'll issue a collection of essays proposing policy options that provide better support to these families and enable them to get ahead.

Decision Points '08 is published weekly by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan social and economic research organization.
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