This mother of two is back at work, but unable to pay her bills. This is the reality of the US jobs rebound.
That’s because she was offered only 15 to 20 hours a week at her employer, a merchandising company, rather than her former full-time position. On top of that, her hourly pay was cut by $4, to $10.
“I can go to work, but I’m not even making enough to pay the rent,” said the Gainesville, Florida, resident. “It puts you deeper and deeper into the hole.”
“The economy is not where it should be right now,” she said.
Although the nation has added more than 9 million jobs over the past three months, many readers have told CNN that they are being offered only part-time shifts. Others say their employers have cut their pay.
“We added more jobs than most people expected, but the gains really were disproportionately part-time workers,” said Kate Bahn, director of labor market policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. “To me, that means even if workers are coming back, it’s to jobs that pay less, and families will be worse off.”
On a brighter note, the number of people who are working part-time jobs but want full-time work dropped by nearly 620,000.
Betsy Kroon of North Mankato, Minnesota, can only find part-time work.
Before the pandemic swept the nation, Betsy Kroon was talking to a hair salon operator about a full-time job as a copy writer. The company called her in July with an offer — but only for a few hours a week. She worked two hours the first week, then 10 hours, and then about five hours this past week.
Kroon, 40, says she had to move back in with her parents in North Mankato, Minnesota, because she can no longer afford her Los Angeles apartment. She’s submitted resumes to nearly 200 jobs since March but only landed three interviews, all within the last month. Only one was for a full-time job — the other two were part-time. She even applied to a dozen contact tracer positions, but never heard back.
While she’s happy to be working in her field, Kroon would like a job that allows her to live independently.
“I’m taking it because it’s what’s available at the moment,” she said.
CNN Business’ Anneken Tappe contributed to this story.
