Looking at poverty rates doesn’t give the full picture of how many individuals and families in a community struggle to make ends meet. That realization drives United Way’s work with ALICE—Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
ALICE encompasses what we once called the “working poor,” but it stands for much more. ALICE encompasses the people and the many variables in their lives—from basic living needs to the barriers that keep them from getting ahead. By factoring in these elements, we gain a better understanding of where the challenges lie and what we can do as a community so every person has the opportunity to achieve financial stability.
The Michigan Association of United Ways has issued three ALICE reports, the latest emerging in 2019. Here’s what that report told us about Jackson County:
- 42% of Jackson County households fall beneath the ALICE threshold—the level where they can become financially stable.
- Slightly fewer households were in poverty in 2017 than in 2015 (14% vs. 15%). However, many more households fell into the ALICE space, between poverty and stability (29% vs. 21%). This seems to show us that while some households rose out of poverty, many that were once stable—perhaps barely—slipped into ALICE.
- The ALICE population grew even though unemployment in Jackson County declined from 6.9% in 2015 to 4.5% in 2017!
Why the change? The report offers some reasons:
- Low-wage jobs dominate the employment landscape, with 61 percent of all jobs in Michigan pay less than $20 per hour. At the same time, an increase in contract jobs and on-demand jobs is leading to less financial stability.
- For the many households that earned slightly above the ALICE threshold in the past, increases in the cost of living and flat wages have pushed them below the threshold and into financial hardship.
Starting in 2016, United Way of Jackson County began shifting its partnerships and investments toward activities that equip ALICE to succeed—from targeted efforts in education, to on-the-job resources that keep people employed, to tools and training to strengthen financial management. Our stated goal is to help 5,000 Jackson County residents develop a pathway to financial stability by 2025.