In this blog we will use the Low-Wage Data Explorer to dispel some myths about the one-in-three workers in California who are paid low wages.

This month the U.S. Department of Labor released its employment projections for the next decade. We analyzed the job quality of the occupations projected to grow the most during this period, focusing specifically on low-wage jobs.

This report shows that the proposed California Senate Bill No. 525 (SB 525), which would establish a new $25 per hour minimum wage for health care employees, has the potential to substantially improve conditions for low-wage health care workers that provide essential services to the state, ameliorate staffing shortages in the industry, and improve quality of care.

The Living Wage Act is a proposed ballot measure to increase the California minimum wage to $18 an hour by 2025. This report examines which workers stand to benefit from the proposed increase.

This fact sheet presents the characteristics of workers in California’s Skilled Nursing Facilities industry, as well as the characteristics of workers in the industry earning less than $20 per hour. It draws from the academic literature to discuss the impact of raising labor standards on quality care indicators.

In this research brief we provide estimates of safety net use among families of construction workers in Oregon. We find that 43% of families of construction workers in Oregon are enrolled in one or more safety net programs at a cost to the state and the federal government of $710 million per year. By comparison, among all Oregon workers, 37% have a family member enrolled in one or more safety net programs. Twenty-two percent of construction workers lack health insurance, two and a half times the rate for all workers in Oregon (9%).

In this research brief we provide estimates of safety net use among families of construction workers in Illinois. We find that 34% of families of construction workers in Illinois are enrolled in one or more safety net programs at a cost to the state and the federal government of over half a billion dollars per year. By comparison, among all Illinois workers, 30% have a family member enrolled in one or more safety net programs. The rate at which construction workers lack health insurance (21%) is more than two and a half times the rate for all workers in Illinois (8%).