{"id":15498,"date":"2013-08-09T00:01:58","date_gmt":"2013-08-09T05:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/having-a-secure-job-replaces-homeownership-as-the-key-to-being-middle-class\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:30:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:30:02","slug":"having-a-secure-job-replaces-homeownership-as-the-key-to-being-middle-class","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2013\/08\/09\/having-a-secure-job-replaces-homeownership-as-the-key-to-being-middle-class\/","title":{"rendered":"Having a secure job replaces homeownership as the key to being middle-class"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recent weeks, President Obama has been on the road citing the need for programs that bolster the middle-class<\/a>. But having weathered a recession that staggered the economy, a 2012 survey shows Americans have changed their views<\/a> on what it takes to be part of the middle-class.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Nearly nine-in-ten adults (86%) say a person needs a secure job to be considered part of the middle class, while just 45% say the same about owning a home, 37% about a college education and 28% about financial investments.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Of the five items tested in the survey question, the only other one seen as essential to a middle-class lifestyle by a majority of the public is health insurance\u2014which many Americans receive through their work. Two-thirds of adults say it\u2019s an essential requirement of a middle-class lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n

The public\u2019s view about what it takes to be in the middle class appears to have changed dramatically over the past two decades. In a 1991 nationwide Time\/CNN\/Yankelovich survey, seven-in-ten respondents said homeownership was essential to being in the middle class, while just one-third said the same about having \u201ca white collar job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Some of the sharp differences between the public\u2019s responses in 2012 and 1991 are likely the result of wording differences between the two surveys: \u201ca white collar job\u201d (the wording used in the 1991 survey) is arguably a narrower and less compelling choice than \u201ca secure job.\u201d But some of the variance may also reflect the persistently high unemployment rates of the past few years as well as a longer-term decline in the share of the working-age public that is employed.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly nine-in-ten Americans now say having a secure job is essential to being in the middle-class; in 1991, it was homeownership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":null,"sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"relatedPosts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0},"categories":[234,242,243],"bylines":[859],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-15498","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","hentry","category-business-workplace","category-homeownership-renting","category-middle-class","bylines-bruce-drake","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states"],"label":"Short Read","post_parent":0,"word_count":264,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2013\/08\/09\/having-a-secure-job-replaces-homeownership-as-the-key-to-being-middle-class\/","art_direction":false,"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[],"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"Having a secure job replaces homeownership as the key to being middle-class","description":"Nearly nine-in-ten Americans now say having a secure job is essential to being in the middle-class; 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