New Jersey's poverty rate may have

dipped down slightly but the number of

households that can't afford basic

necessities rose between 2010 and 2016

by 15% because costs rose higher than

wages Briana vino Z has the latest

allas report on the state's working poor

who are still chasing the dream despite

twenty years as a full-time childcare

worker Jamie she's asked us not to use

her last name struggles to make a living

in New Jersey her story's not unlike

more than a third of households here

where residents can't make ends meet

even with a post recession recovery

Jamie's considered part of a grown

population called Alice Asset limited

income constrained employed the economy

is doing well and yet Alice measures and

budgets show that it's not reaching

everybody the number of households

struggling to afford basic needs grew by

fifteen percent between 2010 and 2016

according to the United Way Alice report

released today it shows that in 2016

1.2 million or thirty eight and a half

percent of New Jersey households live in

poverty or fit the definition of working

poor Alice faces huge problems in terms

of housing affordable housing

availability childcare availability

especially quality childcare and as we

know health care is a challenge

everywhere

Alice households hit both the young and

old all races and ethnicities especially

households headed by a recent immigrant

and those with low skills or a

disability are also vulnerable I think

most concerning to everybody is that

people working in their prime years 25

to 64 years old are Alice and poverty

New Jersey's always been a high cost of

living state but the numbers are grim in

2016 costs for basic needs outpaced both

the rate of wage growth and inflation

rising 16% according to the Alice report

meaning a single adult needed a

household Survival budget of twenty four

thousand three hundred dollars to get by

but a family of four with two young kids

in daycare

needed around $75,000 a year for the

bare minimum with no savings what's the

solution the simple solution is to raise

people's incomes something that we can

do immediately by moving on raising the

minimum wage which all houses and the

governor have expressed support for the

governor did vow to make inroads

acknowledging the report in a statement

today saying we must make this a

legislative priority and work to enact

it before the end of the upcoming

holidays economic stability would be

among the best holiday gifts we could

possibly give our Allis families the

reports author says there's a lot more

that needs to be addressed for New

Jersey's cost of living other than the

minimum wage but it's certainly a start

for NJTV news I'm Briana faux nosey

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