The Washington Post Presents In-Depth Series on Low-Wage Workers

Business Wire, August 4, 2008

Poll Examines Plight of Lowest Income Workers in U.S. Hit by Economic Downturn

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Post, in an on-going series, presents the results of a national poll focused on the plight of low-wage workers ($27,000 a year or less), who make up nearly a quarter of all adults in the United States and have been hardest hit by forces driving the economic downturn.

On Sunday, Polling Director Jon Cohen and Financial Reporter Michael Fletcher examined some of the poll results, which found that low-wage workers have endured stagnant wages, pervasive job losses and growing fiscal uncertainty. Yet, most remain hopeful about the future. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2008/08/02/AR2008080201672.html (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

The poll, jointly conducted with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University, reveals many of the financial issues likely to influence who this segment will vote for in the 2008 presidential election.

Today, Jon Cohen and Political Reporter Michael Shear take a look at the political views of low-wage workers, reporting that Sen. Barack Obama has a two-to-one lead over Sen. John McCain among the segment polled in the race for the White House.

washingtonpost.com offers interactive features that let readers learn more about the results. Readers can participate in a live online discussion with Jon Cohen and Michael Fletcher today at 1 p.m. ET and can answer a selection of questions from the survey to see how their responses compare to the official results. Readers can also watch a video of the authors discussing the purpose behind the poll and some of the major findings.

Over the coming weeks, the series, "Hardest Hit: Hurt and Hope Among Low-Wage Workers," will go in-depth to explain the survey's results and will offer additional video interviews and multimedia online. The full series is available here: www.washingtonpost.com/hardesthit

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