St. George among toughest metros to find job that pays a living wage
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St. George, Utah, has one of highest true unemployment rates in the nation, according to data first shared with Axios.
Why it matters: A strong job market indicates a growing economy.
By the numbers: Last year, the St. George metro area's true unemployment rate was 37%, surpassing the national rate of 23%, per the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity propriety True Rate of Unemployment.
State of play: The share of workers in the St. George area unable to find a job that pays a living wage is not surprising considering the state boasts some of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation.
The big picture: Boom towns like Denver; Nashville, Tennessee, and Dallas are seeing very low levels of unemployment — in stark contrast to areas with large numbers of low-wage jobs, such as El Paso, Texas; Fresno, California, and New Orleans, per data released by LISEP.
How it works: LISEP's True Rate of Unemployment measures the proportion of workers looking for a full-time job that covers basic needs — and who are unable to find one.
- The living wage in Washington County is $25.86 per hour for two working adults with two children, the MIT living wage calculator shows. But the state's minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour and proposals to increase it have failed.
- The median sales price of a home in the St. George metro was $507,450 in March, according to Redfin.
Between the lines: The True Unemployment rate tends to track — but also be much higher than — the headline Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment rate.
- That's because the BLS rate excludes people who might be earning only a few dollars a week; LISEP, by contrast, counts as unemployed anybody earning less than $25,000 per year.
- The BLS, unlike LISEP, also excludes anybody who has stopped looking for work or is discouraged by a lack of jobs or the demands of child care.
What they're saying: "Local communities investing in infrastructure, housing, and future-oriented industries consistently outperform those more reliant on low-wage jobs," says LISEP founder Gene Ludwig.
The bottom line: There are plenty of good jobs in America — but they're not evenly distributed.