Working Poor

We all know that numbers can sometimes be deceiving. Often we have to look behind the numbers to really get the full story. You may have noticed that the South Plains unemployment numbers are quite so bad as the national average. That's a good thing, right? Yes, it is a good thing. However, to really get a good picture of what is going on in West Texas families, we must look a little closer.

It is good that we have a lower unemployment rate in our communities. The question remains - Is it a livable wage or income? I'm sure you have heard the term working poor before (in fact, we've blogged about it before). This is where a great majority of the clients at the SPFB fall. They do have jobs, they just can't afford to pay both the bills and go to the grocery store! We have all been hit by the hard economic times and there are a lot of people who haven't lost their jobs but they are getting paid less. The SPFB has still seen an increase in the number of individuals and families that need a little assistance each month.

Don't forget that just because someone has a job, it doesn't mean they don't need a hand up every now and then. Working poor - hard working individuals who still can't always make ends meet every month.