Issue: Economic Opportunity

Same work, less pay: The wage gap in Alabama

By Chris Sanders

Imagine the uproar if football officials suddenly were to declare touchdowns worth six points for one team but only five points for the other. Many workers both in Alabama and nationwide encounter just that sort of shortfall with every paycheck they receive. Despite decades of steady improvement, sizable earnings gaps remain between women and men and between racial minorities and non-minorities, both in Alabama and nationwide.

This fact sheet examines the history of wage discrimination, the scope of today’s disparities and how an Equal Pay Commission could help Alabama close the gap.

ACPP Report: Recession Over, but Struggles Remain for Alabama Workers

By Chris Sanders

Alabama’s unemployment rate doubled between 2008 and 2009, leading to more poverty, more uninsured residents and more economic insecurity for workers weathering the Great Recession, according to The State of Working Alabama 2010, a new Arise Citizens’ Policy Project report released today.

Unemployment growth was swift and intense in Alabama last year, the report finds, with almost a third of the state’s jobless workers unemployed for more than six months. Along with many of the job losses came a loss of employer-provided health insurance benefits. As a result, demand for public insurance programs like Medicaid and ALL Kids exploded. The report credits federal stimulus money for keeping unemployment from climbing higher and for helping Alabama’s public services meet growing needs amid declining revenues.

The Great Recession officially ended in mid-2009, but its effects may linger in Alabama for years, the report finds. Unemployment is falling, but forecasts say it will remain high in 2011 as the nation’s economy grows too slowly to reduce joblessness significantly. Alabama’s median household income is lower than it was in 2000-01, and rising college tuition costs and a regressive tax system continue to pose problems as low- and middle-income workers try to get ahead, the report finds. The state’s poverty rate is higher than it was a decade ago, especially for its youngest residents: Almost one in four Alabama children lived in poverty in 2008-09, and more than half lived in families making less than 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold.

ACPP executive director Kimble Forrister said the report illustrates the many difficulties that Alabama’s new leaders will face next year. But he said the state can act now to lay the groundwork for a brighter future.

“We should be careful to maintain adequate funding for education, health care and other vital public services next year,” Forrister said. “Our state has taken a balanced approach of both spending cuts and new revenues in past recessions, and we should do so again as we emerge from this one. Investing in Alabama today will lead to more opportunities and better-paying jobs tomorrow.”

ACPP publishes The State of Working Alabama annually. The report uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other state and national sources to examine the economic condition of the state’s working families in 2010 along with historical trends. The complete report is available online at www.arisecitizens.org.

The State of Working Alabama 2010

By Chris Sanders

Like this summer’s BP oil disaster, the Great Recession started for many Alabamians as something far away and impersonal. Then the disaster hit Alabama, and it hit hard. The resulting devastation was far-reaching, with scars that could last for decades even as things begin to return to normal.

Stuck: Low-wage jobs are holding Alabama back

By Stephen Stetson

No matter what lies ahead for Alabama’s economy, a high school diploma is no longer a ticket for employment. We emphasize this point with students, but we leave underprepared adults in the lurch. And it will require more than just each year’s crop of high school graduates to meet the new economy’s demands. Effective workforce development policies for adults in their most productive years are vital for equipping the current generation of workers with the skills and flexibility to support their families and command a living wage.

The State of Working Alabama 2009

By Chris Sanders

The economic recession took longer to crash the party in Alabama than in many other states. But once it did arrive in late 2008, it made its presence known swiftly and severely. Alabama once boasted a far lower unemployment rate than the national average. Now it has one of the highest. Despite a decade of solid growth in the state’s productivity, the shares of Alabamians who live in poverty or lack health insurance have shown no appreciable declines in this decade. And the state’s workers face broader challenges in their efforts to climb the economic ladder, such as soaring college tuition costs and a regressive tax system.

The State of Working Alabama 2008

By Chris Sanders

What if this is as good as it gets? That’s a question many Alabama workers may ask themselves in the near future as this year’s national economic slump continues. The state’s economy has been healthy in a number of areas since the business cycle last peaked in 2001. The unemployment level is below the national and regional averages. Alabama has added a net of almost 100,000 jobs since 2001. The labor force is more diverse than it was when the decade began. And the state is still ahead of the national curve for the percentage of children with health insurance converage. But warning signs of a potential downturn abound for many working Alabamians.

Bridging the Gap

By Alabama Arise

From the Tennessee Valley to the Gulf Coast, Alabamians share a strong work ethic and a deep commitment to individual responsibility. They go to work each day, pay their taxes, participate in the lives of their communities, and nurture their children. But for many, the promise that hard work will provide a good living for them and their families remains just that — a promise, unfulfilled. This report looks at the strengths and needs of these families who watch Alabama’s economic growth from a distance. We review the state’s investment and outcomes in workforce development and evaluate how effectively our much-heralded industrial expansion efforts, along with existing state supports and services, are bridging the gap in family self-sufficiency.

IDAs: Building assets to break the chains of poverty

By Chris Sanders

With just a small investment in a federally sponsored asset-building strategy known as Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), Alabama could help hundreds of low-income workers break the chains of poverty by saving for education, housing or entrepreneurship.

This fact sheet explains how IDAs work, how they’re funded and how Alabama can move forward with this innovative program.

The State of Working Alabama 2007

By Chris Sanders

The rising tide hasn’t lifted all boats in Alabama.  The state’s economy has grown in a number of ways since the recession of 2001-02. The unemployment level is notably below the national and regional average, with some areas of the state experiencing what economists would call full employment. Almost 100,000 new jobs have been created since 2002. Median wages for college graduates have risen at a higher rate in Alabama than in the South or the United States since the turn of the century. And the state is still ahead of the national curve for the percentage of children with health insurance. But for many working Alabamians, the news is far from sunshine and rainbows.

The State of Working Alabama 2006

By Alabama Arise

ACPP has partnered with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) to assess the economic condition of Alabama’s working families in 2006, against the backdrop of national and historical trends.