U.S. Chamber of Commerce - Recruitment and Retention of the Frontline and Hourly Wage Worker: A Business Perspective

Throughout the country--communities both small and large--are in the midst of economic change. While traditional industries such as manufacturing continue to decline in many geographic areas, others, namely health care, retail, and hospitality, are growing rapidly--and are projected to continue growing for the foreseeable future. And while employment opportunities in these industries abound, these part-time and full-time hourly wage and frontline positions (e.g., medical assistants, food workers, cashiers) are staffed by employees whose family incomes fall within lower-income brackets. Among hourly (nonexempt) employees, 30% earn low wages (less than $10.00 per hour in 2006), and 28% live in low-income families (below 200% of the federal poverty threshold). With the right support, these workers will be productive, stable, and upwardly mobile, providing maximum benefit to employers.