Service, farm workers have highest poverty rates September 07,
1999 In 1997, workers in service occupations and agricultural
jobs had double-digit poverty rates. The poverty rate for
service workers was 12.1 percent while the rate for workers in
farming, forestry, and fishing was 16.0 percent. Workers in
other occupations had poverty rates below 10 percent. The
proportion living below the poverty level ranged from just 1.8
percent for persons in managerial and professional specialty
occupations to 7.3 percent for persons working as operators,
fabricators, and laborers. Poverty rates varied within the major
occupational groups, especially within service occupations. For
private household workers, the poverty rate in 1997 was 22.3
percent, and for protective service workers it was 3.1 percent.
Among all other workers in service occupations (such as waiters
and waitresses, dental assistants, janitors, and beauticians),
13.0 percent lived below the poverty level. These data on
poverty rates are from the Current P