According to the Department of Labor, Labor Day is celebrated to recognize the “social and economic achievements of American workers.” So in celebration of the American worker, and those within the Louisville region in particular, this post will cover job quality. As stated in the KentuckianaWorks mission, dignified work is that which satisfies needs, creates value, and inspires hope.
The Departments of Commerce and Labor have identified the Good Jobs Principles, eight factors that contribute to a quality job.
It is difficult to quantify the number of quality jobs in the Louisville region. Data on the majority of the principles outlined in the above framework is either unavailable, difficult to measure, or both. The Urban Institute identified large gaps in the current data landscape on job quality across the nation, let alone at the regional level.
Pay
One element of job quality with widely available data is wages. The Good Jobs Principles state:
All workers are paid a stable and predictable living wage before overtime, tips, and commissions. Workers’ pay is fair, transparent, and equitable. Workers’ wages increase with increased skills and experience.
MIT has developed the Living Wage Calculator to facilitate public awareness of the wages needed for households to cover their basic expenses within the community that they live. The Living Wage Calculator does not account for expenses that many families would consider standard enjoyments, such as eating out at restaurants or taking a vacation. It also does not account for any savings or investment, including retirement savings or an emergency fund. It assumes a very low-cost food budget and access to housing with fair market rents ($875/month for a one-bedroom apartment). The living wage model is the minimum threshold needed to maintain economic self-sufficiency without the use of public assistance programs and without facing severe housing or food insecurity.
Within the Louisville region, the 2024 living wage for a single adult with no dependents is $21.05 per hour ($43,783 annually). For a family of four with two working adults, each adult would need to earn at least $24.34 ($81,386 annual family earnings) and have access to reliable, affordable childcare.
The Living Wage Calculator estimates the employment earnings – or the living wage – that a full-time worker requires to cover or support the costs of their family’s basic needs where they live.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the median hourly wage for the Louisville region in May 2023 was $22.30 per hour. Across the region’s workforce, over half earn at least the living wage for a single adult with no dependents. Critical roles within the region’s workforce have experienced substantial wage increases in the last several years.
However, there are other occupations that employ large numbers of Louisville workers and play critical roles within the functioning of our economy, but are paid substantially lower than the living wage.
Benefits
Another element of job quality with some available data is benefits. The Good Jobs Principles state:
Full-time and part-time workers are provided family-sustaining benefits that promote economic security and mobility. These include health insurance, a retirement plan, workers’ compensation benefits, work-family benefits such as paid leave and caregiving supports, and others that may arise from engagement with workers. Workers are empowered and encouraged to use these benefits.
The Brookings Institution measured local quality jobs by utilizing available Census data on reported earnings and employer-sponsored health insurance. Within the Louisville region, 42% of all workers reported employment in positions where they earned more than median wage and had employer-sponsored health insurance. Only 27% of the region’s Black workers reported the same.
Other Elements
Data on the other six elements of the Good Jobs Principles are not available through federal surveys. But the team at KentuckianaWorks wants to recognize and uplift the region’s employers who value job quality and their workers.
A simple, straightforward way to help workers feel valued is to check-in with them and see if there are opportunities to improve their well-being. The Philadelphia Fed hosted focus groups of frontline workers reflecting on their experiences working during the pandemic and how they would describe a quality job. A key theme that emerged was around value and respect, a critical concept nearly impossible to measure. The research also provided the helpful insight that job quality is difficult to measure because workers, along with their households, circumstances, and needs are not universal.
“There can be no single measure of job quality, as different workers value different things at different times in their lives.”
Redesigned Jobs, Resilient Workers
With support from the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, KentuckianaWorks collaborated with local employers to redesign the quality of their frontline roles. Through the Redesigned Jobs, Resilient Workers (RJRW) grant KentuckianaWorks helped develop practice change with two local employers, Paradise Tomato Kitchen and Masonic Homes of Kentucky.
Paradise Tomato Kitchen implemented regular “checkpoint interviews” for new hires, who were able to connect with leaders throughout the organization in their first three months, leading to increased trust and retention. Read more here.
Masonic Homes invested in additional benefits, providing direct care workers with bus passes and discounted cell phone plans. Read more here.
KentuckianaWorks plans to double down on its efforts to highlight employers with quality jobs. Watch this space for coming announcements on a new accolade for the region’s employers investing in their workforce.
