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Title: Fast Food, Poverty Wages: The Public Cost of Low-Wage Jobs in the Fast-Food Industry

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2013

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Abstract: Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of enrollments in Americas major public benefits programs are from working families. But many of them work in jobs that pay wages so low that their paychecks do not generate enough income to provide for lifes basic necessities. Low wages paid by employers in the fast-food industry create especially acute problems for the families of workers in this industry. Median pay for core front-line fast-food jobs is $8.69 an hour, with many jobs paying at or near the minimum wage. Benefits are also scarce for front-line fast-food workers; an estimated 87 percent do not receive health benefits through their employer. The combination of low wages and benefits, often coupled with part-time employment, means that many of the families of fast-food workers must rely on taxpayer-funded safety net programs to make ends meet.

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Authors: Thompson, Jeremy; Thompson, Dan; Allegretto, Sylvia; Jacobs, Ken; Graham-Squire, Dave; Doussard, Marc

Publisher: University of California, Berkeley

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Health, Poverty and Welfare

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