{"id":6433,"date":"2012-05-10T14:31:03","date_gmt":"2012-05-10T19:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=6433"},"modified":"2012-05-10T14:31:03","modified_gmt":"2012-05-10T19:31:03","slug":"economic-mobility-in-oklahoma-is-among-the-worst-in-the-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2012\/05\/10\/economic-mobility-in-oklahoma-is-among-the-worst-in-the-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Mobility in Oklahoma is Among the Worst in the Nation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Pew Center on the States<\/p>\n

Oklahoma, Louisiana and South Carolina ranked worst on economic mobility, according to Pew's Economic Mobility of the States study.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Oklahoma\u2019s economic ladder reaches below-average heights, its bottom earnings rungs are sticker than others, and workers near the top face greater risks of slipping, a new study shows.<\/p>

The study<\/a> \u2014 Economic Mobility of the States<\/em> \u2014 was compiled by a team of researchers at the Pew Center of the States, and focuses on workers\u2019 ability to move up and down the earnings ladder.<\/p>

Oklahoma fared poorly on all three major measures.<\/p>

<\/p>\n

The study compared state residents\u2019 earnings prospects to their national and regional peers.<\/p>\n

Economic Mobility of the States: Interactive<\/h4>\n
<\/object><\/h6>\n<\/div>

On the national level, Oklahoma was below average in absolute mobility and both upward and downward relative mobility. Regionally, the results were mixed.<\/p>

Absolute mobility measures one\u2019s earnings growth over time; Relative mobility compares one\u2019s earnings to their peers\u2019.<\/p>

Relative upward<\/em> mobility is the percent of residents on the bottom half of the earnings ladder who climb up 10 or more percentiles over a 10-year period. Relative downward mobility is the percent of residents on the top half of the ladder who slide down 10 or more percentiles over the same 10-year period.<\/p>

<\/object><\/p>

Confused? Watch the video above for a good illustration of economic mobility and how it’s measured.<\/p>\n

Regional Impact<\/h3>

Pew’s study included data from what’s considered a person’s “prime working years”: the 10 years from ages 35-39 and 45-49.<\/p>

Looking at the map, there are obvious regional trends to economic mobility. The Northeast fares better than the Southwest, which Oklahoma is a part of.<\/p>

The economic mobility metric provides a deeper look than unemployment and poverty rates and linear changes in income. Economic mobility measures “equality of opportunity,” which project manager Erin Currier says is the foundation of the American Dream.<\/p>

“It’s a really unifying and nonpartisan topic,” she says. “Neither party owns the American Dream.”<\/p>\n

\n

Related<\/h4>\n
\n
Posts<\/h5>\n