The Poor get Poorer: Low Wage Jobs Still Dominate

Not so long ago, Russ Holton was married, making a six-figure income and looking at a promising career ahead.

Now, seven years later, he's divorced, interviewing for $12-an-hour jobs and trying to further his education and stay afloat in a jobs market that is creating in excess of 200,000 positions a month but few that provide an opportunity to live the life to which he had become accustomed.

"I'm not finding what I'm looking for," Holton, a 45-year-old resident of Mason, Ohio, said during a phone interview that provided a break during a day of job hunting. "I just interviewed for a job that pays $12 an hour. I felt really stupid. For 12 bucks an hour, that's not right.... It's a different world right now."

While it may be a different world, it's a familiar story.

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