Boston is a city of haves and have-nots, and a new study by the Boston Redevelopment Authority quantifies the growing divide, portraying the trend in stark numbers that show few benefits from the economic boom going to those near the bottom of the income scale.
Despite much attention given to high-paying jobs in technology, biotechnology, and finance, nearly half of Boston residents make less than $35,000 a year, the study shows. Incomes, when adjusted for inflation, have not risen for such workers for three decades.
The report, to be released Tuesday, portrays a local economy sharply divided by race, class, and education, with shrinking opportunities for those trying to climb the economic ladder.
About 40 percent of jobs in the city require at least a bachelor’s degree, for example, compared to less than 27 percent nationally. Jobs that don’t require a college degree are mostly in low-paying sectors such as hospitality and food service, which rely heavily on part-time labor and force many workers to string together two or three jobs to barely get by.
– The Boston Globe