Welcome to the United States of low wages

Today we learned that 162,000 jobs were created in the month of July. But, not so fast... this might be a case of quantity over quality. Christine Romans reveals the truth behind the numbers.

162,000 US jobs created in July but a lot of those positions were barelypaid the bills. Well, Unemployment is still a problem, under-employment and lowwages are a real problem for the middle-class. Check out the jobs that werelost during the recession. Mostly mid-wage work, right here, these are the jobslost. It’s companies, large or small,cut payrolls. What kinds of jobs are coming back? Take a lookat this, mostly low-wage positions. You see jobs coming from here and goingright down here in the recovery. Hourly rates of 7.69 to 13.83 an hour, that's all according to the National EmploymentLaw Project.

This is from 2010 to the second quarter of 2012.Here is the mediumhourly wage for top five occupations with the most hirers during the recovery. Lookat this, retail sales per people, $11 an hour, food prep, labors and freights, stock and material movers, waitresses and waiters, 7.60 an hour. Personal home health care aids, about $10 an hour. So...,that's the past. That's what happening in the past. What about looking into thefuture, what about the next few years.

The government projects these jobs willbe in high demand through 2020.Home health care aids top the list, registered nurseshere, take a look at that, registered nurses, $64,000 a year, grow for thisfield. But that's growth is going to take more education, specific training and public investment. Look, most of these put a family of four under the poverty line if it's their only income. Registerednurses again, this big bright spot here also, office clerks 26 grand a year. Look,you have to really really know where you are putting your investment, in an educationand in planning for a career. Are we becoming the United States of low wages oris this just a rough step on the path to renewed prosperity.