Sunday, February 22, 2015

Health care opens Middle - class path taken mainly by women

The pay of registered nurses- now the third-largest middle-income occupation and one that continues to be overwhelmingly female- has risen strongly along with the increasing demands of the job. the median salary of $61,000 a year in 2012 was 55% greater, adjusted for inflation, than three decades earlier. This shift in job market has given women more career advancement opportunities. More man are actually shifting from mechanic and construction jobs to nursing because of the high pay, but they still make up only 10% of the rank.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/23/business/economy/health-care-opens-middle-class-path-taken-mainly-by-women.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

2 comments:

Unknown said...

There was a time in America when a middle-class life might mean a comfortable life. It now, for many, has come to mean a difficult but survivable life. A fair tax code, some real changes to how student debt is treated, and a single payer health care system could bring some comfort back to the middle-class. Unfortunately, the political class seems to only care about the upper class.

Unknown said...

Shichen, your comment is valid, but I think the vast range of incomes in the middle-class is a major problem. Comparing the median salary of nurses versus some people at 40,000 a year does not do them justice. The article does raise a fascinating pattern. There is economic profit to be made and demand for labor is high so people are becoming nurses. How do you feel that the affordable care act will impact healthcare salaries?