Think we live in a tough economy? Think again. Look at these up-to-date stats…
59% of all Americans are directly or indirectly (via 401K’s and pensions) invested in the stock market: an all-time high in percentage of population who, in October, benefited from stock market highs.
Gas prices dropped last month, as much as 50-cents a gallon. And the much predicted stall in home construction failed to materialize; in fact, there was 4% growth (Incidentally, the average new home is 2,434 square feet, 62% larger than the average home built in 1970, according to the National Association of Home Builders – we’re livin’ large!). Only one sector of the American economy seems to have serious trouble: the old big 3 automakers.
A great deal of noise has recently been made (again) about the urgent need to raise the minimum wage, so these facts may be of interest: only 2.7% of hourly paid employees and 1.1% of salaried employees are paid at minimum wage level. Approximately 30% of that is tied to “entry level jobs” occupied by people entering the workforce for the first time, second jobs, and completely unskilled workers. The hospitality and leisure industries have the highest percentage of these workers – and that includes seasonal employment at resorts and amusement parks.
Factoring all this together, the best estimates are that fewer than 2% of American workers are in minimum wage jobs as their full-time employment/career, from which they are attempting to support families. (Sources: Bureau Of Labor Statistics; Employment Research)
So next time you hear your TV, your newspaper or your friends and family saying times are hard…think again. There’s more opportunity and wealth than ever before – take a look at the facts!
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