Demographic And Industry Profile Of Our Survey
The 1304 workers in our survey are drawn for all over the county. And while in our survey, Latinos are over-represented, this was done on purpose because they make up a disproportionate share of the poor in Santa Cruz, and we wanted to better investigate a population that is often under-researched. Our survey respondents also worked in industries projected to have the most openings in the near- to mid-term future. These include: retail sales, food preparation and serving, personal care and services, and building and grounds cleaning. It is also significant to note that a large majority of low wage workers surveyed were the main breadwinners in their families (62%) and were supporting others (57%). Their median hourly wage, however, was only $10.
