Well-Paid Benefit Most As Economy Flourishes

Shauna Thompson works as a home health aide in Reston and spends her 30-minute lunch break with her 3-year-old son, Deshaun, at a nearby child-care center. Her average pay, depending on the client, is $10 to $15 an hour. (By Dayna Smith -- The Washington Post)

The elderly population in the Washington area and nationwide is rising, as is the number of jobs caring for the elderly and disabled in their homes. Yet the average wage for such jobs in the region rose 3.9 percent from 2003 to 2005, while the average wage in many advanced medical specialties rose 20 percent or more.

"It's hard," said Thompson, 29, of Reston, whose average pay varies from $10 to $15 an hour depending on the client. That range has barely changed in her nine years on the job. She struggles to spend 20 minutes a day with her 3-year-old son between her two jobs and his sleep schedule.

"We'd love to pay our aides better, and Lord knows they deserve better wages," said D.J. Dabby, executive director of the company for which Thompson works, Medical Team Inc. But she has to satisfy insurers demanding low bills -- and even at the low wages, Dabby said, she can keep the business staffed.

Immigration may be another factor in the weak wage gains for those with low incomes. Recent immigrants, legal or not, tend to be less educated than the population at large and thus compete with low-skilled native-born Americans for jobs.

Studies vary, but some economists estimate that immigration reduces wages for native-born Americans without a high school education by as much as 8 percent.

"The least-skilled natives are hurt somewhat by immigrant competition," said Jared Bernstein, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, which researches issues affecting low-wage workers. "But then, in the 1990s, you had one of the fastest decades of immigrant inflow on record, and low-skill wages did just fine. It boils down to immigrant competition for low-paid workers is a whole lot tougher in an unfavorable job market."

Quarles, the shipping clerk frustrated by puny raises, isn't waiting for the economics to change. Foreseeing that package handling would grow only more automated, he enrolled in college. He just graduated and plans to look for a job with more promise.

"This," he said, "isn't a career for me."

Database editor Dan Keating contributed to this report.