Connecticut is creating more low-wage jobs, and minorities are increasingly being left behind, according to a new report.
The 2017 State of Working Connecticut report, produced by the Connecticut Voices for 
Children, states that over the last five years the share of low-wage jobs increased by 9.2 percent, while the share of mid-wage jobs decreased and the share of high-wage jobs remained flat. During the same period, people of color have become increasingly overrepresented in low-wage work and underrepresented in high-wage work.
Wage disparities by race have widened: the median white worker now makes $10.08 and $8.98 per hour more than their black and Latino counterparts, respectively.
The wealthiest 10 percent experienced the greatest raise in the last year while the median worker’s wage remained essentially flat. Workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher earn two and a half times more than those with no high school degree, according to the report.
In addition, unemployment for black residents remains nearly triple that of their white counterparts, and even though youth unemployment has returned to pre-recession levels, about one in five youth remain underemployed – more than double the rate for 25- to 54-year-olds.
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