Job Quality in the United States is Declining
The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI) calculates the monthly ratio of low-quality jobs to high-quality jobs to assess the overall condition of jobs in the United States. “Quality” is defined by the weekly dollar-income generated by the job, with “high-quality” jobs defined as those earning above the weekly wage mean and “low-quality” as those that fall below. In November, the JQI index was 80, indicating that for every 100 low-quality jobs, there were only 80 high-quality jobs. This a significant decrease from the 94 high-quality jobs for every 100 low-quality jobs in 1990, when the JQI was conceived. Researchers have also found that the historic correlation between low unemployment and inflation/growth is no longer present. Although job creation has increased, a greater number of new jobs are low-quality, with less hours worked and a minimal hourly wage growth. The gap in weekly income has also widened, with the income growth rate of high-quality jobs increasing significantly faster than the rate of low-quality jobs.