In 2023 — thanks largely to three years of federal spending — unemployment dipped to record lows and the total number of jobs in Ohio reached levels not seen since before the 2001 recession. But more jobs doesn’t necessarily mean better ones. Some of Ohio’s largest employment sectors typically don’t pay enough to get by. Only two of the state’s most common jobs pay their typical worker enough to qualify a family of three as “economically stable,” with wages at or above 200% of the poverty level ($49,720 last year).

Pay for a typical worker (the “median wage”) jumped 7% to $23.95, the largest annual increase in decades. But women’s wages grew much slower than men’s during the recovery (2% versus 8% respectively). While Black workers have seen 4% growth, they still trail white workers by $5.86 at the median. These disparities mean the good life is out of reach for too many working people.

Last year, wages rose faster than inflation for workers across the income spectrum. Ohio’s lowest-paid workers, with wages in the bottom 20%, saw desperately needed wage growth. Their median wage increased to $14.71.

Despite these gains, working Ohioans are struggling. In 2023, an Ohio worker who was paid minimum wage could work full-time, year-round, and still fall $4,084 short of the poverty line for a family of three.

The disparity between positive economic indicators and persistent economic instability shows just how much wages have been held down, and for how long. Minimum-wage jobs paid more in 1968 than they do now, accounting for inflation. Ohioans need to make about $15 an hour to match the buying power of the minimum wage the year Richard Nixon was elected president.

Profit-driven increases in the cost of groceries and housing have made inflation particularly hard on working people, who spend larger shares of their income on basics than do those with more discretionary income. For many people, the margins are just too thin. A full-time worker must make more than $20.81 an hour to afford a 2-bedroom apartment and utilities, but half of all Ohio workers are paid less than $23.95.

Good policy can help. Tax policy can support broad economic security — by raising taxes on the wealthiest — rather than further consolidating wealth by more cuts to the income tax. A refundable EITC or Child Tax Credit would help working Ohioans offset some of the high cost of living, just as a property tax circuit breaker would help ease housing costs. The state should invest in public education, childcare, and affordable transportation. Lawmakers should prioritize these policies to build the economy from the middle out.

Major federal investments have strengthened Ohio’s economy and prevented a more severe economic downturn. But decades of corporate-sponsored policy (in D.C. and Columbus) have done too much harm to be made right with a year or two of growth. Working Ohioans need greater and more sustained federal spending — and state-level leaders who put people over politics — to generate concrete benefits to go along with the encouraging data.

Hannah Halbert, Executive Director of Policy Matters Ohio