East Bay workers now earn more, but many still struggle to make ends meet

"Workers' wages in Alameda and Contra Costa counties rose during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery, but the gains were not enough for many to afford the region's high cost of living, according to a UC Berkeley Labor Center report published Tuesday. Researchers estimated that the median hourly wage in the East Bay region reached more than $35.43 in 2023, nearly $3 higher than in 2019, adjusting for inflation."

"Despite the higher individual income, which added up thousands of dollars per year, the number of workers living at or near poverty increased to nearly 97,000, or one in 10. The wage gains are really important and that is a true bright spot in the story, but in the aggregate, it didn't really move the needle, said Savannah Hunter, a senior researcher at the UC Berkeley Labor Center who co-authored the report."

"More than half of East Bay workers weren't paid enough to support a household of two full-time worker parents and two children. Among renters, about one-third of workers struggled to afford housing costs, according to the report's findings. Latino and Black workers disproportionately experienced lower incomes than whites and Asians. Hispanic immigrants earned a median hourly wage that rose to just $22, the lowest when compared to other race and ethnicity groups, as well as other U.S.-born and foreign-born workers."

The median hourly wage in the East Bay reached more than $35.43 in 2023, nearly $3 higher than in 2019 after adjusting for inflation. Despite higher wages that added thousands of dollars per year for individuals, the number of workers living at or near poverty rose to nearly 97,000, or about one in ten. More than half of East Bay workers lacked sufficient pay to support a household with two full-time working parents and two children. Among renters, roughly one-third of workers struggled to afford housing costs. Latino and Black workers faced disproportionately lower incomes, and Hispanic immigrant workers had a median hourly wage of about $22, the lowest across groups. The end of pandemic-era relief programs in 2022 contributed to increased poverty, especially for children.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org