It is not easy to find a job that will pay sufficient wage to support a family. Indeed, in today’s economy, education and skills are needed by all – young and old.
That is just part of what I learned last week in Chicago at the Working Poor Families Project (WPFP) training, where advocates from all over the country gathered to share ideas and learn from one another.
Nebraska Appleseed is proud to be a part of the Working Poor Families Project – a data-driven national initative focused on state workforce development policies involving three main areas: education and skills training for adults, economic development, and income and work supports.
To be sure, there is much to be done to ensure we all have the skills we need to make a family-supporting wage. Here are three take-away statistics from the initiative:
- Nearly one in three working families in Nebraska (30.8%) are low income – meaning that in spite of work they still struggle to make ends meet.
- One in four jobs in Nebraska (25.1%) pay below poverty level wages.
- One in 11 Nebraskans (8.9%) do not hold a high school diploma, which is usually considered the bare minimum requirement for most jobs that pay above minimum wage.
Being a part of this initiative helps Nebraska Appleseed identify gaps and policy solutions to address poverty in Nebraska. WPFP and their state partners, including Nebraska Appleseed, are working hard to ensure that we all have a fair shot at economic opportunity and independence.