Does A Rising Tide Lift All Boats?

The United States is in its fourth year of strong economic growth and low inflation and its ninth year of economic expansion, yet important distributional questions remain. We investigate the distribution of economic gains, measured by a reduction of poverty among people working full time and year-round.

Major findings:

• Poverty has risen in both the number and share of those employed full-time and year-round since 1973.
• There are great differences in the poverty experience of full-time workers living in different regions of the country.
• Ethnic minorities working full time move in and out of poverty more often than whites.