Report: Mid-wage jobs disappearing

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NEW YORK, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Most U.S. jobs lost during the recession paid in the mid-range of wages while the majority of jobs gained since then have paid lower wages, a report said.

The report from the National Employment Law Project said the loss of mid-wage, mid-skill jobs is part of a longer-term trend some call the hollowing out of the work force, which has been accelerated by government layoffs, The New York Times reported.

"The overarching message here is we don't just have a jobs deficit; we have a 'good jobs' deficit," said Annette Bernhardt, the author of the report and policy co-director at the liberal research and advocacy group National Employment Law Project.

The study looked at 366 occupations and divided them evenly into groups by wage. Researchers found occupations in the middle group, which paid hourly rates of $13.84 to $21.13 made up 60 percent of job losses from 2008 to 2010. That group accounted for 22 percent of the total job growth since then.

Meanwhile, the higher-wage jobs represented 19 percent of job losses during the economic downturn and 20 percent of job gains when employment started growing again. Lower-wage jobs made up 21 percent of job losses and 58 percent of job growth, the report said.