AT least one part of the labor force has expanded significantly since
the recession hit: the low-wage part, made up of burger flippers, home
health aides and the like.
Put simply, the recession took middle-class jobs, and the recovery has
replaced them with low-income ones, a trend that has exacerbated income
inequality. According to Labor Department data, about 1.7 million workers
earned the minimum wage or less in 2007. By 2012, the total had surged
to 3.6 million, with millions of others earning just a few cents or
dollars more. [Read more]
