BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (WDTV) – United for ALICE has released an updated report about the relationship between wage growth and inflation in West Virginia.
ALICE is defined as those who are “asset limited, income constrained and employed.” These individuals earn above the federal poverty level but below what is needed to survive in the current economy.
This most recent report found that over 220,000 West Virginia households are defined as ALICE and over 123,000 additional households are in poverty. They found that 48 percent of those households are living paycheck to paycheck, reports said.
This is still happening despite the wages for the lowest paying jobs rising at the fastest rate in four decades across the country, reports said.
“There is no doubt, bigger paychecks helped, but inflation and the loss of pandemic supports converged to keep ALICE trapped,” said Brett White, Tygart Valley United Way CEO. “This latest data is a reminder that while we have made some progress, our work is far from over.”
The findings in this one-year period are consistent with a more than decade-long trend: Since the end of the Great Recession, despite some ups and downs, the number of ALICE households in West Virginia has been steadily growing. From 2010 to 2022, the total number of households fell by 3%, households in poverty decreased by 4% — and the number of ALICE households grew by 13%.
“The data is showing persistent and widespread financial hardship — a red flag that the current system isn’t working for ALICE,” said Stephanie Hoopes, Ph.D., United For ALICE National Director. “Current policy has not been enough to break down the barriers that trap ALICE households in financial hardship, from lack of access to housing and child care that’s affordable, to inadequate community supports such as broadband internet.”
Additional insights from the report include:
• From 2010 to 2022, people age 65 and over made up the fastest-growing age group in West Virginia — and the group with the largest increase (21%) in the number of households struggling to make ends meet.
• Racial disparities persisted in the rates of financial hardship; 62% of Black and 44% of Hispanic households in West Virginia were either in poverty or ALICE in 2022, compared to 47% of white households.
• Food assistance continued to elude many vulnerable families in West Virginia. Partly due to the SNAP income eligibility level in the state (200% of the Federal Poverty Level), only 52% of all West Virginia households in poverty and 21% of all ALICE households participated in SNAP in 2022.
To read the updated report and access online, interactive dashboards that provide data on financial hardship at the state, county and local levels, visit http://www.UnitedForALICE.org/West-Virginia.
Copyright 2024 WDTV. All rights reserved.