Social work has long been committed to eliminating poverty, which is at the root of many of the social issues and challenges we address. Over 40% of the U.S. workforce makes less than $15/hour, and the accumulating evidence suggests this is not enough to meet basic needs. In this introduction to a special issue about low-wage work, we describe what is known regarding the experiences and well-being of low-wage workers, as well as promising policy and practice ideas to better support working families. We provide an overview of the included articles and conclude with encouragement for social workers to move beyond a narrow focus on poverty and more broadly consider the struggles and well-being of low-wage workers and their families.
BallentineK.GoodkindS.ShookJ. J. (2020). From scarcity to investment: The range of strategies used by low-income parents with “good” low-wage jobs. Families in Society, 101(3). OnlineFirst publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389420929619
2.
BullingerL. R. (2017). The effect of minimum wages on adolescent fertility: A nationwide analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 107, 447–452.
3.
CampbellM.HouserL. (2020). Connecting caregiver wages and distress: Felt precarity, parenting, and child behavior. Families in Society, 101(3). OnlineFirst publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389420913393
4.
CengizD.DubeA.LindnerA.ZippererB. (2018). The effect of minimum wages on low-wage jobs: Evidence from the United States using a bunching estimator (Centre for Economic Performance Discussion Paper No. 1531). Centre for Economic Performance.
5.
CollyerS. (2020). At what point do wages make ends meet? Investigating the relationship between wages and material hardship in New York City. Families in Society, 101(3). OnlineFirst publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389420916009
6.
CookJ. T.FrankD. A. (2008). Food security, poverty, and human development in the United States. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2008, 1–16.
GodoeyA.ReichM. (2019). Minimum wage effects in low-wage areas (IRE Working Paper No. 106-19). Institute of Industrial Relations, University of California.
9.
GundersenC.ZiliakJ. P. (2015). Food insecurity and health outcomes. Health Affairs, 34, 1830–1839.
10.
HillH. D.RomichJ. (2018). How will higher minimum wages affect family life and children’s well-being?Child Development Perspectives, 12, 109–114.
11.
JacksonG. L.TrailT. E.KennedyD. P.WilliamsonH. C.BradburyT. N.KarneyB. R. (2016). The salience and severity of relationship problems among low-income couples. Journal of Family Psychology, 30, 2–11.
12.
KargerH. (2020). Problems in paradise: Low wages and the well-being of Hawaiians. Families in Society, 101(3). Online First publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389420911321
13.
KimD.LeighJ. P. (2010). Estimating the effects of wages on obesity. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 52, 495–500.
LambertS. J.HenlyJ. R.KimJ. (2019). Precarious work schedules as a source of economic insecurity and institutional distrust. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 5, 218–257.
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LenhartO. (2017). Do higher minimum wages benefit health? Evidence from the UK. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 36, 828–852.
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MeltzerD. O.ChenZ. (2009). The impact of minimum wage rates on body weight in the United States. Washington, DC: National Bureau of Economic Research.
NeckermanK. M.GarfinkelI.TeitlerJ. O.WaldfogelJ.WimerC. (2016). Beyond income poverty: Measuring disadvantage in terms of material hardship and health. Academic Pediatrics, 16, S52–S59.
Oxfam & Economic Policy Institute. (2016). Few rewards: An agenda to give America’s working poor a raise.
22.
RaissianK. M.BullingerL. R. (2017). Money matters: Does the minimum wage affect child maltreatment rates?Children and Youth Services Review, 72, 60–70.
23.
ReevesA.McKeeM.MackenbackJ.WhiteheadM.StucklerD. (2017). Introduction of a national minimum wage reduced depressive symptoms in low-wage workers: A quasi-national experiment in the UK. Health Economics, 26, 639–655.
24.
RossM.BatemanN. (2019). Meet the low-wage workforce. Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institute.
25.
ScottJ.EdwardsK.StanczykA. (2020). Moon-lighting to the side hustle: The effect of working an extra job on household poverty for households with less formal education. Families in Society, 101(3). OnlineFirst publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389420910664
26.
SemegaJ.KollarM.CreamerJ.MohantyA. (2019). Income and poverty in the United States: 2018 (Current Population Reports, P60-266). U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Government Printing Office.
27.
SomersM. R.BlockF. (2005). From poverty to perversity: Ideas, markets, and institutions over 200 years of welfare debates. American Sociological Review, 70, 260–287.
28.
SossJ.FordingR. C.SchramS. F. (2011). Disciplining the poor: Neoliberal paternalism and the persistent power of race. The University of Chicago Press.
TungI.LathropY.SonnP. (2015). The growing movement for $15. National Employment Law Project.
31.
WesternB.RosenfeldJ. (2011). Unions, norms, and the rise in U.S. wage inequality. American Sociological Review, 76, 513–537.
32.
WexlerS.EngelR.SteinerE.PetracchiH. (2020). “It is truly a struggle to survive”: The hardships of living on low wages. Families in Society, 101(3). OnlineFirst publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389420928270
