By Kevin Wilhelm September 14,2018\
More families in Connecticut are facing financial hardship, according to the 2018 ALICE Report released this month by Connecticut United Ways. The update to the original ALICE Report, which released in 2014, and again in 2016, reveals that more than 1 in 3 Connecticut residents are struggling to afford their basic needs.
ALICE, which stands for Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed, is defined as individuals or families who have earnings above the federal poverty level, but below a basic cost-of-living threshold. Despite working hard at often more than one job, these households struggle to make ends meet.
The updated 2018 Connecticut United Way’s ALICE Report documents the challenges facing ALICE families throughout our state, and identifies trends that affect ALICE’s ability to achieve financial security. In Middlesex County, there are 16,834 households who fall under the ALICE criteria, approximately 25 percent of all Middlesex County households.
One of these trends discovered is that even though Connecticut may be known as a state with one of the highest “per capita” incomes, the fastest growing jobs right now are the ones with the lowest pay. Also, there has been a rise in what is being called the “gig economy” — short-term site-specific jobs that are have limited job security, few or no benefits, fluctuating hours and unreliable wages. These trends are significantly impacting our state’s residents, and leading to more and more ALICE households.
Continue reading: Middletown Press