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People who work full time and receive a minimum wage cannot afford to pay for a two-bedroom apartment in any state in the country , according to the annual report “Out of Reach” of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
According to the report, in the 93% Of the counties in the United States, the same workers cannot afford a modest one-bedroom room .
Research defines affordability as the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn not to spend more than 30 % of your rental income , in line with what most budget experts recommend. This year, workers would have to earn $ 24. 93 dollars per hour in order to have a two-bedroom home and $ 20. 56 dollars per hour for a one bedroom rental. This represents an increase compared to $ 23. 96 and $ 19. 56 dollars, respectively from last year.
According to the report, an average hourly worker currently earns $ 16. 78 dollars per hour, more than $ 6 dollars below the wage necessary to afford a two-bedroom rental.
Bearing in mind counts the minimum wage of each state and locality, the report concludes that the average worker who receives a minimum wage in the United States would have to work almost 97 hours per week to be able to afford an average two-bedroom home . Which means you will need to have more than two full-time jobs.
The pandemic exacerbated housing problems, and low-wage workers were those most affected by job loss. They have also been more likely to get COVID – 19.
Housing prices in The United States have increased by 15. 7% at annual rate during April according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) .
For now, the $ 1.9 billion American Rescue Plan includes $ 10, 000 million dollars of government aid to go to the Homeowners Assistance Fund .
The fund is intended to support homeowners hardest hit by the pandemic and will provide financial assistance to those who have difficulty coping with what s mortgage payments and face delinquency and foreclosure. The money can also be used to cover the cost of utilities.
Hispanic workers
The report concludes that Hispanic and African American workers are the most likely to spend more of their income on rent , since they earn less, than the average of white workers.
More than 56% of Black and Latino households spend more than 30% of your rental income compared to 25% of white households.
The NLIHC called on the government to to guarantee the continuity of the programs emergency rental assistance launched during the COVID pandemic – 19 help those most in need.
It has also asked political leaders to approve permanent and universal rental assistance for eligible households , invest in new affordable housing, and enforce stricter tenant protection laws.
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