Florida 2016 The State of Working - Florida …period while the working class share grew by 1.1...

The State of WorkingFlorida 2016

By: Alí R. BustamanteCenter for Labor Research and Studies

School of International and Public AffairsFlorida International University

Executive Summary...............................................................1

Introduction: State of Working Florida 2016.......................2

Chapter 1: Class and Economic Vulnerability....................4

Chapter 2: Working for Class...............................................7

Chapter 3: Florida's Marginalized Workers.......................12

Chapter 4: Policy Recommendations................................15

Endnotes..............................................................................16

Acknowledgements.............................................................17

Table of Contents

The State of Working Florida 2016

Executive Summary

Alí R. Bustamante

This 13th edition of State of Working Florida focuses on economic mobility in Florida through ananalysis of the state’s occupational structure for the period between 2009 and 2014. This reportconcentrates on the occupational dynamics that have emerged in Florida after the Great Recession of2007-2009 in order to explain the current path of economic and social development in the state.Furthermore, the report addresses the implications of current occupational dynamics on future developmentand provides policy recommendations to improve economic mobility in Florida.

• Between 2009 and 2014 the share of households that belonged to the upper class grew by 8.1 percent,from 17. 5 percent to 18.9 percent. Conversely, the middle class share declined by 3.5 percent during thisperiod while the working class share grew by 1.1 percent. This means that the shrinking of the middle classwas largely due to growth in the upper class and to a lesser extent, growth in the working class.

• As of 2014, the average upper class household earns three times what the average middle classhousehold earns and nearly 10 times what the average working class family earns.

• The decline in household incomes experienced by the working class led to increased poverty rates amongevery demographic between 2009 and 2014.

• During the peak of the recession Florida’s unemployment rate rose to 11.2 percent in November 2009and declined to 5.8 percent in December 2014 and 4.7 percent as of May 2016.

• Healthcare practitioner and technical jobs as well as computer and math occupations experienced thelargest gains in shares of all jobs between 2009 and 2014. These occupations facilitate upward economicmobility.

• Sales and related occupations and office and administrative support jobs, the two largest occupationalgroups in the Florida, declined in their share of all jobs between 2009 and 2014, by 12.1 percent and13percent respectively. These occupations facilitate upward mobility for working class and middle classworkers.• While some jobs continue to facilitate economic mobility, such as transportation and material moving jobs,sales and related occupations and office and administrative support jobs are not the robust bridges theyonce were.

• In 2014, the five main occupations of higher wage and salary earners are management, healthcarepractitioners and technical jobs, sales and related jobs, business and financial operations, and computerand math occupations.

• The five main occupations of middle wage and salary workers are office and administrative support, salesand related occupations, management, education training, and library, and transportation and materialmoving jobs.

• The five main occupations of lower wage and salary earners are sales and related occupations, foodpreparative and service jobs, office and administrative support, building and ground cleaning andmaintenance jobs, and transportation and material moving jobs.

• The average share of workers earning less than $10 per hour in their occupation grew from 16 percent in2009 to 16.9 percent in 2014.

• The average share of workers earning less than $15 per hour in their occupation grew from 39.5 percentin 2009 to 40.9 percent in 2014.

• Women earn $0.78 for every $1 made by men, when controlling for age, education, and occupation.

• Racial and ethnic minorities earn $0.92 for every $1 made by whites, also controlling for age, education,and occupation.

• Policy recommendations include: paying higher wages to low-wage workers, stopping workplacediscrimination, and improving educational outcomes, especially in college graduation rates.

Key Findings:

September 12, 2016

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Introduction: State of Working Florida 2016

This 13th edition of State of Working Floridafocuses on economic mobility in Floridathrough an analysis of the state’soccupational structure for the periodbetween 2009 and 2014. This reportconcentrates on the occupational dynamicsthat have emerged in Florida after the GreatRecession of 2007-2009 in order to explainthe current path of economic and socialdevelopment in the state. Furthermore, thereport addresses the implications of currentoccupational dynamics on futuredevelopment and provides policyrecommendations to improve economicmobility in Florida.

The intuition, expressed by many on bothsides of the political spectrum, that theeconomy is working for some but not forothers rings true because it is largelyrepresentative of the broader economictrends in the state. The share of householdsin the upper class is the largest it’s been inrecent history while the share of householdsin the middle class is the smallest. Theshare of households in the working classhas held steadily at about 32 percent.

In short, Florida is increasingly becomingmore economically polarized. Some in themiddle class have achieved considerableeconomic mobility, as observed in the growthof the upper class, but the inability of manymiddle and working class households toclimb the economic ladder has led to agreater concentration of households atopposite ends of the economic spectrumwhile the middle class has shrunk. Thismeans that while some in Florida haveenjoyed economic mobility the economy hasnot worked well to provide the majority ofFloridians acceptable growth in livingstandards.

The research in this report finds that theeconomic polarization of classes in Florida islargely a reflection of an occupationalstructure offering fewer middle income jobs

that facilitate upward mobility. Manyworking Floridians continue to beperpetually stuck in low-wage occupationswhile occupations that have historicallyfacilitated upward economic mobility haveeroded. At the same time, recent growth inoccupations with high education and/or skillrequirements have provided some with theopportunity to achieve high incomes.

The jobs that are available, and the payand benefits related to those jobs, have aconsiderable impact on which rung of theeconomic ladder most Floridians belong toand their prospects for upper mobility.Therefore, the job creation thatgovernment incentivizes and thatbusinesses pursue has a profound effecton the standard of living that Florida’seconomy provides to its workers. Withfewer middle income jobs, the Floridaeconomy is promoting greater economicpolarization and inhibiting the ability ofworkers to obtain the higher quality jobsthat they need and the economic mobilitythey desire.

Economic polarization in Florida isproblematic because it exacerbates thesignificant and disproportional declines inhousehold income that the working classendured during the Great Recession.Additionally, while most households inFlorida saw their incomes recover much ofthe ground that was lost during therecession working class household havenot recovered to the extent of other incomegroups. This means that working classhouseholds were forced to dig out of aneconomic trench that was much deeperthan their counterparts and yet were givenfewer tools to do so.

Furthermore, the persistence of traditionalforms of economic marginalization, basedon race and sex, further complicates theability of some Floridians to achieveeconomic mobility. When Floridians are

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pushed into the margins of economic lifedue to discrimination and bias they aresimultaneously stripped of opportunitiesto achieve economic mobility. Theeconomic marginalization of peoplesfurther fuels the economic inequalitiesthat divide Floridians into groups with thepromise of improving living standardsand those without the prospects ofsignificant economic mobility in theirlifetime.

The case of Florida is emblematic of therising income inequality in the U.S. thathas been largely driven by the decline ofthe middle class and diminishingopportunities for the working class. Representing the overwhelming majorityof households in Florida, economic

hardships among the working andmiddle classes can trigger economicchallenges in the broader stateeconomy.

This report will review Florida's classstructure and the challenges thathouseholds face. Second, the report willanalyze how the state’s occupationalstructure is contributing to the economicpolarization of classes in Florida. Third,evidence will be presented ofinequalities, based largely on economicmarginalization that many Floridiansexperience. Lastly, the report will makepolicy recommendations that promoteeconomic mobility and reduce thepolarization of classes in Florida.

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households in the working class hassteadily hovered around 32 percent andthat the middle class share of households isnow just 49.1 percent. Most households inthe working class have no experiencedeconomic mobility in recent years and the

Chapter 1: Class and Economic Vulnerability

...the average upper classhousehold earns three times

what the average middle classhousehold earns and nearly10 times what the average

working class family earns.

middle class represents a smaller share ofFloridians than it has in past years.

A closer look at average annual householdincomes shows that the average upperclass household earns three times what theaverage middle class household earns andnearly 10 times what the average workingclass family earns. On average, upperclass households earned $118,847 in 2014compared to $39,275 for middle classhouseholds and $12,098 for working classhouseholds. While all classes experiencedincome declines between 2009 and 2014the working class experienced an average6.7 percent decrease in incomes comparedto a 4.7 decrease for the middle class and3.2 decrease for the upper class. As aresult, average income disparities betweeneconomic classes have grown between2009 and 2014 and economic polarizationhas increased.

According to the most recently availablegovernment data, between 2009 and 2014the share of households that belonged tothe upper class grew by 8.1 percent, from17.5 percent to 18.9 percent. Conversely,the middle class share declined by 3.5percent during this period while the workingclass share grew by 1.1 percent. Thismeans that the shrinking of the middleclass was largely due to the growth in the

working class.However, thisshiftunderscoresthe fact that theshare of

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Figure 1: Share of Households by Class in Florida: 2009-2014

Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 1-year Estimate

already have adifficult timecovering the cost oftheir basicnecessities.Between 2009 and2014 the averageworking class

led to increased poverty rates amongmost demographic groups between2009 and 2014. The general povertyrate increased by 11.6 percent duringthis period.

Poverty among adults and childrenincreased by 15.8 percent and 12.4percent respectively while eldersexperienced a modest increase of 2.8percent. Males and femalesexperienced relatively similar increasesin poverty, 12.2 and 11.1 percentrespectively. Whites observed povertyrate increases of 15.1 percentcompared to just 3.7 percent for racial

The decline in householdincomes experienced bythe working class led toincreased poverty ratesamong mostdemographic groupsbetween 2009 and 2014.

income decreased by $865 from $12,963to $12,098. The decline in householdincomes experienced by the working class

The average income losses of theworking classes have translated intoeconomic hardship. After all, the workingclass has the most to lose fromreductions in income because they

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Figure 2: Adjusted Average Annual Household Income by Class in Florida: 2009 and 2014 (2014 dollars)

Figure 3: Poverty Rates by Demographic Group in Florida: 2009 and 2014

born Floridiansexperienced apoverty increaseof 14 percentcompared to10.6 percent forthe native

...that the working classis a demographicallydiverse group and thatthe economic declinesabsorbed by the workingclass are distributedamong all types ofpeople.

population. Poverty trends make it clearthat the working class is ademographically diverse group and thatthe economic declines absorbed by theworking class are distributed among alltypes of people.

and ethnic minorities because racialand ethnic minorities already have thehighest poverty rates among anydemographic group. Lastly, foreign-

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Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey

Figure 4: Unemployment Rates for the U.S. and Florida: 2009-2016 (seasonally adjusted)

Chapter 2: Working for Class

...the post-recessionoccupational structurelargely reflects the jobs andjob standards thatgovernment and businessesvalue and exemplifies theirvision for the economicdevelopment of the state.

the peak of the recession Florida’sunemployment rate rose to November2009 and declined to 5.8 percent inDecember 2014 and 4.7 percent as ofMay 2016. The share of unemployedpersons experiencing long-termunemployment declined from 53percent in 2011 to 40.1 percent in2014. Similarly, the underemploymentrate was 19.3 percent in 2010 and 12.8percent in 2014.

The occupational structure thatemerged from the recession is largely acontinuation of the pre-recessioncomposition with some minor butnoteworthy changes that contribute tothe economic polarization of class inFlorida. First, healthcare practitionerand technical jobs as well as computerand math occupations experienced thelargest gains in shares of all jobsbetween 2009 and 2014. During thisperiod, computer and math jobsincreased by 148.7 percent from 1percent in 2009 to 2.4 percent in 2014.While the increase may not seem largeit is important to note that the averageshare of employment by an occupationis 4.4 percent. This means thatcomputer and math jobs are nowcommon parts of the Florida jobstructure. In fact, computer and math

The decline of incomes across alleconomic classes is largely due to theGreat Recession and the subsequentdecline in demand for workers thatFlorida and the rest of the U.S.endured up to 2010. However,Florida’s economic recovery followingthe recession is evidence of the jobcreation strategies pursued by thegovernment and businesses. Thismeans that the post-recessionoccupational structure largely reflectsthe jobs and job standards thatgovernment and businesses value and

exemplifi-es theirvision fortheeconomicdevelopm-ent of the

state. An examination on of thedistribution of jobs after the recessionprovides us with key insight into theresultant class structure that is likely topersist absent any changes togovernment and business employmentstrategies.

Standard labor market indicators showthat the labor market has largelyrecovered from the recession. During

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Figure 5: Share of Employment by Main Occupations in Florida: 2009 and 2014

jobs represent a similar share ofemployment in Florida than legal jobsand architecture and engineering jobs

...healthcare practitionerand technical jobs as wellas computer and mathoccupations experiencedthe largest gains in sharesof all jobs

combined.Similarly, in 2014,healthcarepractitioner andtechnical jobsrepresent 5.9percent of all jobs

compared to 3 percent in 2009, anincrease of 97.7 percent. Growth inthese occupations reflect governmentand business efforts to grow the healthand technological sectors in the state.The relative increase in theseoccupations, with relatively high wagesand benefits, has facilitated upwardeconomic mobility for some workers inFlorida.

Conversely, the decline in sales andrelated occupations as well as office andadministrative support jobs has had theopposite effect and reduced economicmobility in Florida. Between 2009 and2014 the share of sales and related jobsfrom all jobs decreased by 12.1 percent,from 14 percent to 12.3 percent.Similarly, office and administrativesupport occupations declined by 13percent, from 17.4 percent to 15.1percent. Sales and related occupationsand office and administrative supportjobs are the two largest occupationalgroups in the Florida. This means that in2014 27.4 percent of all workers inFlorida, more than a quarter of allworkers, belonged to one of these twooccupational groups. The decline ofthese occupations is significant becauseoffice and administrative supportoccupations are the most commonoccupation of Florida’s middle classwhile sales and related jobs are alsovery common. These occupations arealso two of the three most commonoccupations of the working class. As jobopportunities in these occupationsreceded after 2009 an important bridgefacilitating upward mobility for workingclass and middle class workers waseroded. As a result, the opportunities foreconomic mobility for the working and

middle class were diminished.

A closer analysis of the occupationalstructure associated with the distributionof earn-

As job opportunities inthese occupationsreceded after 2009 animportant bridgefacilitating upwardmobility for workingclass and middle classworkers was eroded.

ings confirms ourfinding that changesin the occupationalstructure has led toeconomicpolarization

in Florida. In 2014, the five mainoccupations of higher wage and salaryearners were management, healthcarepractitioners and technical jobs, salesand related jobs, business and financialoperations, and computer and mathoccupations. Growth in healthcarepractitioners and technical jobs andcomputer and math occupations hasallowed for greater high salaryopportunities in Florida. Therefore,increased opportunities for entry intothese occupations allows workers to shifttowards higher earning positions thatenable them to achieve upward mobility.

The five main occupations of middlewage and salary workers are office andadministrative support, sales and relatedoccupations, management, educationtraining, and library, and transportationand material moving jobs. Declines inthe number of office and administrativesupport jobs and sales and relatedoccupations available reduces theemployment options of the middle class.This means that some in the middle maybe squeezed out of middle wage andsalary jobs and forced to work in lowerearnings jobs that they would nototherwise work in.

Lastly, the five main occupations oflower wage and salary earners are salesand related occupations, foodpreparation and service jobs, office andadministrative support, building andground cleaning and maintenance jobsand transportation and material movingjobs. Food preparation and service jobsand building and ground cleaning and

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Figure 6a: Main Occupations by Earning Group in Florida: 2014

Other 28.9%

Office andAdministrativeSupport 15.1%

Sales and Related12.3% Management 8.9% Food Preparation

and Serving 8.0%

Transportation andMaterial Moving

6.0%Healthcare

Practitioners andTechnical 5.9%

Education,Training, andLibrary 5.7%

Construction andExtraction 4.7%

Businessand

FinancialOperations

4.4%

All Workers

Management30.5%

Other 14.6%

HealthcarePractitioners andTechnical 11.8%

Sales and Related11.7%

Businessand

FinancialOperations

8.4%

Computer andMath 7.7%

Architecture andEngineering 4.5%

Office and AdministrativeSupport 3.8%

Protective Service3.7%

Transportationand MaterialMoving 3.3%

$77,650 andAbove

Other 22.1%

Management16.9%


Business and FinancialOperations 8.2%

Education, Training,and Library 6.3%

Computer andMath 6.2%



ProtectiveService4.3%

Installation, Maintenance,and Repair.4.8%

$55,464 to$77,649

Other 24.0%


Management12.1%




Business andFinancial

Operations 7.6%

Transportation andMaterial Moving 4.8%


Constructionand

Extraction4.4%

$42,355 to$55,463

Other 26.3%



Healthcare Practitionersand Technical 6.2%

Business and FinancialOperations 5.8%




Management 8.9%

Constructionand

Extraction4.8%

$35,296 to$42,354

Other 28.9%


Sales and Related9.6% Management 7.1%

Transportationand MaterialMoving 6.3%

Healthcare Practitionersand Technical 6.0%


Food Preparationand Serving 5.4%


Installation,Maintenance,

andRepair.4.6%

$28,237 to$35,295

10Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 1-year Estimate

Figure 6b: Main Occupations by Earning Group in Florida: 2014

All WorkersOther 28.9%




6.0%Healthcare

Practitioners andTechnical 5.9%

Management 8.9%Food Preparationand Serving 8.0%



Businessand

FinancialOperations

4.4%

$22,186 to$28,236

Other 26.2%





7.3%


HealthcarePractitioners andTechnical 5.3% Management 4.9%

Production 4.9%Building and

Grounds Cleaningand Maintenance

5.2%

$17,144 to$22,185

Other 22.8%




Building andGrounds Cleaningand Maintenance

8.0%




Production 4.5%


$12,102 to$17,143

Other 19.8%





8.5%


7.4%


Production 4.7%


PersonalCare andService4.5%

$6,052 to$12,101

Other 18,1%





7.6%


7.2%

Personal Careand Service 5.3%



Production 3.6%

$6,051 andbelow

Other 17.2%





7.0%


6.4%

Personal Careand Service 5.9%


Production3.2%


maintenance jobs, which compriseabout 13 percent of all jobs and about23 percent of all lower wage jobs, aretwo of the three occupations with thegreatest share of workers earning lessthan $10 per hour, 53.6 percent and36.7 percent respectively. This meansthat workers employed in thesesoccupation will have limitedopportunities to transition into the middleclass. Furthermore, the decline in officeand administrative support jobs andsales and related occupations availablein the broader economy means thatworking class workers now have a muchmore difficult time achieving economicmobility because they must seekmobility through occupational changesinstead of through productivity andknowledge gains in their existingoccupations.

While some jobs continue to facilitateeconomic mobility, such astransportation and material moving jobs,sales and related occupations and officeand administrative support jobs are notthe robust bridges they once were. Infact, it is important to note that sales andrelated jobs are common across alllevels of the earnings distribution.Thissignals that sales and related jobs is anoccupation with considerable dynamismto potentially facilitate economicmobility. However, it is also theoccupation with the second largestdecline in its share of total employment.

Equally important to the economicpolarization in Florida is the increase inthe share of low-wage occupations. The average share of workers earningless than $10 per hour in theiroccupation grew from 16 percent in2009 to 16.9 percent in 2014. Theshare of healthcare support jobsearning less than $10 per hour grew by46 percent from 19.1 percent to 27.9percent. Similarly, the share of farming,fishing, and forestry jobs earning lessthan $10 per hour increased from 40.8percent to 56.8 percent, a 39.3 percentincrease. Conversely, the share of jobsin personal care and service earningless than $10 per hour declined by 20.8percent from 44 percent to 34.9percent.

Similarly, the average share of workersearning less than $15 per hour in theiroccupation grew from 39.5 percent in2009 to 40.9 percent in 2014. Theshare of farming, fishing, and forestryjobs earning less than $15 per hourgrew from 69.1 percent to 80 percent, a15.7 percent increase. Likewise, theshare of jobs in production earning lessthan $15 per hour increased by 21.2percent from 45.8 percent to 55.5percent. The opposite is observedamong community and social servicejobs where the share of jobs earningless than $15 per hour declined by 28percent from 27.2 percent to 19.5percent.

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Figure 7: Share of Florida Workers Earning Less Than $10 and $15 per hour by Occupation: 2014 (2014 dollars)

Chapter 3: Florida's Marginalized Workers

An examination of the demographicsassociated with the 2014 distribution ofearnings shows that traditional inequalitiescontinue to persist. Women continue to bedisproportionately present in low and middleearnings groups and largely absent fromhigh earning groups. In 2014, 56 percent oflow earnings workers were women,compared to 50 percent of middle earningsworkers and 36.7 percent of high earningsworkers. The same dynamic exists forAfrican-Americans and Hispanics as well asthe individuals with low levels of education.African-American workers represented 20.4percent of low earnings workers, 17.7percent of middle earnings workers, and 9.3

percent of high earning workers. Hispanicworkers represented 27 percent of lowearnings workers, 24.6 percent of middleearnings workers, and 19.6 percent of highearning workers. Conversely, whiteworkers represented 70.3 percent of lowearnings workers, 74.8 percent of middleearnings workers, and 83.4 percent of highearning workers. This means that theeconomy is not working for everyone aseconomic opportunity continues to evadethose that have been traditionally subject toeconomic marginalization.

Analysis of recent data shows that womenearn 22.1 percent less than men, when

55.8% 26.7% 35.4% 70.2% 20.3% 3.0%30.1%

50.2% 24.6% 19.7% 74.7% 17.7% 2.5%26.4%

36.3% 19.6% 5.1% 83.9% 9.2% 4.0%17.3%

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$17,143 and below

$17,144 to $55,463

$55,464 and above

Female Foreign-born Uninsured White African-American Hispanic Asian

Figure 8: Demographic Shares by Earning Group in Florida: 2014

controlling for age, education, andoccupation. Essentially women are earning$0.78 for every $1 made by men. Similarly,racial and ethnic minorities earn 8.1 percentless than whites, also controlling for age,education, and occupation. This means thatwhen we compare workers who are doingthe same job and have similar levels ofexperience and education we find aconsiderable gender and racial pay gap.This pay gap translates into opportunities foreconomic mobility for some and constraintsin living standards for others.

Similarly, some demographic groups havegreater access to employment and workinghours than others. For example, thegeneral unemployment rate peaked at 11.1percent in 2010 before decreasing to 5.4percent in 2015. However, in 2015 theunemployment rate of African-Americanswas 9.3 percent compared to 4.2 percentfor whites, and 5.8 percent for Hispanics.Similarly, the share of unemployed workersexperiencing long-term unemployment, anunemployment duration of 27 weeks orlonger, was 32.1 percent for whites and

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Figure 9: Gender Pay Gaps in Florida: 2014

$0.78 $1.00Gap = $0.22

Women Men

Figure 10: Racial Pay Gaps in Florida: 2014


$0.92 $1.00Gap = $0.08

Racial Minorities Whites

41.9 percent for African-Americans in2015. Furthermore, theunderemployment rate is 9.2 percentfor whites, 16.9 percent for African-Americans, and 13.2 percent forHispanics. The difficulty African-Americans, and Hispanics to a lesserextent, face when seekingemployment underlies the fact that thelabor force participation rate ofAfrican-Americans is 61.8 percent and63.5 percent for Hispanics, comparedto 55.9 percent for whites. This meansthat African-Americans and Hispanicshave a greater propensity to seekemployment compared to whites.Nonetheless, the employment gainsassociated with the economicrecovery have not been equallydistributed among all peoples.

Additionally, in 2014 only 27.9 ofworkers in Florida had a bachelor’sdegree or a higher college degree.However, these workers represented70 percent of high wage and salaryearners in the state and 37.8 percent

of middle earners. Higher educationfacilitates economic mobility becausemost high wage occupations havestringent educational requirements.However, if workers with relatively lowlevels of education are limited toworking class jobs then the prospectsof economic mobility for many and thevision of broader prosperity for all willbe severely restricted.

This is of particular concern given thefact that 17.2 percent of all youth areconsidered to be disconnected youth,not in school and not working. Aconsiderable share of the nextgeneration is already feelingsqueezed from education and workbecause they are likely feeling that theeconomy isn’t working for them orproviding them with the prospects ofimproved standards of living. Thecontinuation of this trend can havedetrimental effects on the social andeconomic wellbeing in Florida, fromlow economic growth forecasts to anincreased burden on social services.

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Chapter 4: Policy Recommendations

This report proves that economicpolarization has widened in Florida inrecent history. However, there is muchthat government, businesses, and civicorganizations can do to shift the state inthe direction of greater economic inclusionand shared prosperity. We propose thatFlorida policymakers and businesses cannarrow economic polarization and reducethe inequality gap by paying higher wagesto low-wage workers, stopping workplacediscrimination, and improving educationaloutcomes, especially in collegegraduation rates.

First, higher wages to low-wage workerscan be directly addressed by a higherminimum wage, a policy that wouldincrease the earnings of Florida workersby billions, thereby stimulating economicgrowth. Additionally, the incomes of low-wage workers can also rise through non-wage interventions such as throughincreased tax credits as is possiblethrough the federal Earned Income TaxCredit (EITC). The EITC is a refundabletax credit designed to reward work andreduce poverty, especially among low-income households.

Second, workplace discrimination may bereduced through greater enforcement ofexisting anti-discrimination laws andthrough greater transparency in paystructures that provide workers withvaluable information in determiningwhether they are be unfairly paid.Government and employer policies

focused on supporting child rearing suchas paid parental leave and child caresubsidies to quality child care, can alsoserve to reduce workplacediscrimination as parents, andparticularly mothers, would receive thesupports they need to balance work andfamily. Furthermore, stronger workerprotections such as wage theftenforcement would do a lot to securethe wages of vulnerable workers into thefuture.

Lastly, improving educational outcomes,especially college graduation rateswould facilitate greater economicmobility. Improvements to the quality ofpublic K-12 education in Florida arenecessary, especially so that studentsmay be better prepared to succeed incolleges, universities, or technicalschools. While a greater share of youngpeople are enrolling in college than everbefore thanks to the availability of Pellgrants and other education subsidiesthe proportion of students that actuallygraduate from college has seen littleimprovement. Additionally, companiesmay provide a greater emphasis on on-the-job training and skill developmentthrough state-business partnerships thatfoster a more educated and skilledworkforce and a greater number ofquality skilled-job openings. Given theimportance of education in obtaininghigh paying jobs with high levels of skillsand education requirements manyimprovements are needed to increasestudent success.

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1) Great Recession duration measured by the National Bureau of Economic Research:http://www.nber.org/cycles/sept2010.html2) Note: working class consist of households below 66% of the median annual householdincome; middle class consist of households between 66% and 200% of the median annualhousehold income; and upper class consist of households above 200% of the medianannual household income.3) Pew Research Center. 2015. “The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground: No longerthe majority and falling behind financially.” Washington, D.C.: December.http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/09/the-american-middle-class-is-losing-ground/4) Prior editions of the State of Working Florida published by RISEP as well as otherreports on Florida’s economy can be found at www.risep-fiu.org5) Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 1-year estimates6) Note: Incomes are adjusted by household size. Adjusted annual household income =annual household income / (number of people in household)^.57) Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 1-year estimates8) Note: Data is based on individual poverty rates as of 2014 for one individual. 9) Source: U.S. Census American Community Survey 1-year estimates10) Irons, John. 2009. “Economic Scarring: The Long-term Impacts of the Recession.”Economic Policy Institute Briefing Paper No. 243. http://www.epi.org/publication/bp243/11) Note: Florida’s labor force was divided into equal deciles, 10 equally sized groups, byannual earnings.12) Based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Current Population Survey.13) Wages were adjusted for inflation and presented in 2014 dollars in order to allow forcomparison.14) White workers include white Hispanic workers.15) The Hamilton Project. 2013. “Thirteen Economic Facts about Social Mobility and theRole of Education.” Washington, D.C.: June. https://www.brookings.edu/research/thirteen-economic-facts-about-social-mobility-and-the-role-of-education/16) Cooper, David. 2015. “Raising the Minimum Wage to $12 by 2020 Would Lift Wagesfor 35 Million American Workers.” Economic Policy Institute Briefing Paper No. 405.http://www.epi.org/publication/raising-the-minimum-wage-to-12-by-2020-would-lift-wages-for-35-million-american-workers/17) Bailey, Martha J., and Susan Dynarski. 2011. “Gains and Gaps: Changing Inequality inU.S. College Entry and Completion.” PSC Research Report No. 11-746.

Endnotes

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Acknowledgments

This edition of the State of Working Florida is made possible by the Research Institute onSocial and Economic Policy (RISEP) and by the institutional support of the Center forLabor Research and Studies at the Green School of International and Public Affairs atFlorida International University.

Contact: Alí R. Bustamante

Center for Labor Research and Studies School of International and Public Affairs

Florida International University(305) 348-1519

[email protected]

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