The unsolved mystery of the gilded economy New evidence shows the number of full-time workers in poverty is actually growing. N.Y. She puts in long hours - often six days a week. She has no health insurance. She's struggling to pay an outstanding medical bill. The numbers are contained in the first-ever study of poverty among Americans working more than 35 hours a week.
Experts cite several reasons.
Those industries are the lowest-paying in the economy. Meanwhile, the minimum wage over that period has fallen, relative to inflation. The decline of trade unions has also decreased workers' bargaining power across the board. And manufacturers have gone global with their production, increasingly putting US factory workers in competition with those in lower-wage nations. Another factor is the demographics of the workforce.