Professor Ellen Scott co-authors new University of Oregon report revealing Oregon’s growing economic crisis
On Thursday, researchers from the University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center (LERC) and Department of Sociology released The High Cost of Low Wages, a new report that details the economic reality for Oregon’s low-wage workers in the post-recession economy.
The report found that over 400,000 Oregonians – roughly 25 percent of the state’s entire workforce – are employed in low-wage work. Further, about one in 7 Oregon workers receive public assistance.
The report offers new data on the costs of public assistance low-wage workers in Oregon must rely on to make ends meet and how taxpayers are supporting a new form of corporate subsidy to the largest companies employing low-wage workers in the state. Each year, taxpayers spend over $1.7 billion to subsidize corporations’ reliance on a low-wage workforce. Large, profitable corporations in retail, fast food, and health care employ the largest share of low-wage workers using public assistance.
The report also recommends a set of policy solutions that stand to improve economic opportunity for Oregon’s working families while reducing corporate welfare and strengthening the state’s economy.