A report by the Economic Policy Institute has found that employment growth in the U.S. is being driven by low-skilled service jobs. They warn that as jobs shift from high-paying to lower-paying industries, the nation's wage base will shrink and workers will have a lower quality of life. In Los Angeles, 15% of new jobs are estimated to be "underground" ? the cash economy of low wage laborers not counted in government statistics. The Institute has been critical of the Bush Administration and recommends changes in public policy; raising the minimum wage, attaching labor standards to trade agreements, and stopping the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs.
See "Low-Pay Sectors Dominate U.S. and State Job Growth", Nancy Cleeland, Los Angeles Times, January 21, 2004