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Title: Taking the Pulse of Illinois’ Middle Class: The Changing Size and Composition of Middle Income Households

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2017

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Abstract: Over recent years, the hollowing out of the American middle class has emerged as a topic of much speculation and concern. During the middle of the twentieth century, the middle class rose to a position of economic and demographic dominance. The question of whether this is no longer the case is closely related to the issue of rising income and wealth inequality but focused more directly on those who fall between the extremes of rich and poor. This report aims to broadly document trends affecting the middle class in Illinois with a focus on employment. The notion of “class” defies straightforward measurement with conventional data sources and encompasses more than employment status. In lieu of a clear way to define and measure class per se, this report follows previous national analyses in focusing on “middle income” households and their changing composition over time: • TheportionofIllinoishouseholdsfallingwithinthemiddleincomerangehas fallen from about 59 percent in the early 1970s to about 49 percent over the last five years. Middle income levels are also not keeping pace with the growth of upper income levels. • LikeIllinois’populationasawhole,thestate’smiddle-incomehouseholdshave grown more diverse, although their composition remains disproportionate by race. In 1980, non-Hispanic Whites made up 84 percent of people in middle-income households, but this portion fell to 67 percent by 2015. • Growthinthefemaleworkforcebetweenthe1970sand1990sandtheslowdecline of the gender pay gap has probably moderated the relative decline of middle- income households. • Theobservabledeclineinmiddle-incomehouseholdsiscloselyrelatedtoother contemporaneous trends, such as declining earnings for workers without a college education, the changing mix of industries that support middle-income employ- ment, and changing affects of labor market institutions on earnings. The report concludes with a discussion of how state and local policy can raise em- ployment standards and affect the supply and demand for labor. Such policies should be evaluated on how they achieve two objectives: growing the middle class from below and stabilizing the middle class from within.

Url: https://ler.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PMCR_Habans_middleClass_20170502-1.pdf

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Habans, Robert

Publisher: Project for Middle Class Renewal

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Housing and Segregation, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Other

Countries: United States