Report finds low-wage jobs rapidly growing in (San Diego) county

[question everything]

Looking for a job with a real future in San Diego County? You might want to give hamburger-flipping a try.

Nearly one-fourth of the jobs created in the county between 1999 and 2002 were for restaurant cooks and servers, with an average salary of $18,043 per year, according to a report released yesterday by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. The chamber's report warns that the rapid growth of low-income jobs is mirrored by a shrinkage in middle-wage jobs, as the county becomes increasingly stratified between rich and poor.

"We are creating some high-end jobs and a lot of low-wage jobs, but the middle class is getting squeezed out," said chamber economist Kelly Cunningham, who wrote the report. "We run the risk of becoming like Santa Barbara, with a stratum of wealthy people and the workers on the lower end who serve them."

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Of the 70,810 jobs created in San Diego County between 1999 and 2002, 42,320 – or 60 percent – paid less than $30,000 a year, according to the chamber's report.

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In a recent study, the center estimated that a family of four requires at least $50,000 a year to provide such basic necessities as food, rent, clothing and child care.

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Dean Calbreath: [phone]; [e-mail]

Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040415/news_1b15wages.html

[Florida_Geek]

1. Gee with all those $500,000

houses in SD 18,000 to 30,000 per year look very easy to make the mortgage payments !NOT!

[mhr]

2. Imagine That All Our Fears Are Not Merely Suspicions After All

What's the old saying? Where there is smoke there is fire.

[Ilsa]

3. Bad sign where I live:

Dollar General stores and Family Dollar stores springing up on every street corner. More of them than grocery stores. Cheap goods for poor laborers.

[shanti]

6. this is true...

and they sell LOTS of hispanic food products, including fresh tortillas.

[BadGimp]

4. the math is simple

we don't care where the good we buy are made cause all we care about is saving a buck

we don't care that the companies we do business with export all of the jobs they can to pump up thier profits

the outcome of our behavior has been foretold for 3 decades

is anyone really surprised?

anyone?

[Ksec]

5. We get the shlt

The US will be third world in twenty years if repubs stay in power. There is absolutely no doubt . This corporate whoring is so unpatriotic and unAmerican that it sickens me.

We should really be jumping all over this.

[Guava Jelly]

7. I was Born In San Diego 1966

Guess returning to my home town from Kansas would be stupid Job wise

[Nobody]

8. I was wondering what kind those 300,000 new jobs were

The Bush junta was crowing so loudly about job creation and refused to extend unemployment benefits because the economy is rebounding. Recovery my ass!

[2Design]

9. yes all of the 300.000 + jobs are below $10 hour

They said the majority of those jobs were retail and service....
It was the supermarket strike being over, construction workers going back to work after the snows cleared, and landscape contractors being able to work....

and democrats hiring people in the field to get the word out and ACT hiring people to get people registered to vote.....

Not many 50,000 dollar jobs.........