New report: Recovery is not benefitting all Vermonters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 31, 2015

CONTACT:
Paul Cillo
paul@publicassets.org
802.223.6677

New report: Recovery is not benefitting all Vermonters
 Public Assets Institute releases State of Working Vermont 2015

MONTPELIER – Since the end of the Great Recession, life has actually gotten harder for many Vermonters, says the State of Working Vermont 2015, released today by Public Assets Institute. In 2014 poverty was still above pre-recession levels, as was homelessness. Although the number of jobs is back to where it was before the recession, the number of Vermonters working is still below the 2006 peak, and more than half of all single mothers with young children are living in poverty.

“At the end of 2014, many Vermonters were worse off than before the recession,” said Paul Cillo, executive director of the Montpelier-based non-profit.

“The indicators highlighted in this report ought to tell legislators loud and clear that what they’re doing is not working. Poverty is up, homelessness is up, and 1 in 7 Vermonters is eligible for food stamps,” Cillo says. “Our elected officials need to acknowledge that Vermont is not working for a lot of its residents.”

“The economy is seeing some growth thankfully,” Cillo adds, “but that growth has been concentrated at the upper incomes. The middle class is struggling to make ends meets and those in poverty are even worse off. We need state policies to turn these trends around.”

Public Assets produces the State of Working Vermont each year in conjunction with the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. This report highlights how working Vermonters and their families were faring economically as of 2014—the latest year for which most data are available—and how economic conditions have changed, for better or worse, in recent years. It is based on data released by the U.S. Census, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other state and federal agencies during 2015.

State of Working Vermont 2015 is published in readable chartbook format with brief explanatory captions. The report can be viewed or downloaded at https://paivt.wpengine.com/?p=10590

Public Assets Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes sound state budget and tax policies that benefit all Vermonters. More information at www.publicassets.org

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