Report: 23 percent in county struggle but not in poverty

“Working hard but struggling to survive,” is the tagline the community-based organization United Way uses to describe many New Jersey households above the poverty-level and having difficulty affording the basics.

Approximately 23 percent of Sussex County’s 51,978 households are struggling to make ends meet, according to the 2018 ALICE report released by the United Way. “ALICE” is an acronym for “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.”

Statewide, ALICE classified households increased by 15 percent between 2010 and 2016. Out of New Jersey’s 21 counties, Sussex County has the second lowest ALICE population; Cumberland, Essex and Salem counties are ranked the top three.

The ALICE Project kicked off in 2009 as a Morris County pilot study and has since expanded to 16 states.

Stephanie Hoopes, Ph.D., the report’s author and ALICE Project director, said, “One of the challenges for ALICE households is those in the ALICE segment don’t usually have savings. When there is an emergency, such as a car breaking down, they may have to cut back on food and delay their bills.”

Hoopes said ALICE households are above the Federal Poverty Level and most do not qualify for government benefits. The 2016 level for a single-person household was $11,880; a four-person household was $24,300. The ALICE report compiled and analyzed a “household survival budget” double the poverty level for all locations analyzed.

The budget’s data was gathered from a range of verifiable resources — for example, food costs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and housing costs from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In 2016, the survival budget showed a single adult in Sussex County averaged $2,430 for monthly expenses like housing and food; for a household of four (two adults, one infant and one toddler) the monthly average budget was $6,610. The largest budget drivers were health care, transportation and child care costs; “technology” was a new line-item due to the necessity for smartphones for most workers. The average hourly wage across New Jersey for single adult households was $14.58; and $39.66 combined for a four-person household, creating a shortfall based on the survival budget line items.

Hoopes said the ALICE thresholds are fluid as households migrate across different income levels. The number of ALICE households within Sussex County has remained fairly flat since 2010, at 23 percent the mode (in 2010, 22 percent were ALICE households; and in 2012 and 2016; 23 percent). In 2014, that number climbed to 27 percent. In 2016, 28 percent of New Jersey households were ALICE-classified.

Hoopes said Sussex County’s rural character presents fiscal challenges for households due to possibly higher transportation costs with less access to public transportation and typically longer commutes. Some trade the commute for lower wages closer to home.

Hoopes said poverty-level and ALICE household figures should be combined when looking at the overall numbers due to the struggles they both face. Countywide, Sussex Borough had the greatest concentration of ALICE households at 51 percent, with 18 percent at poverty-level. Franklin Borough followed with the second highest concentration of ALICE households at 41 percent and 12 percent at poverty-level. Newton was third with 37 percent ALICE households and 16 percent at poverty-level. On the lower end of the spectrum, Sparta’s ALICE population was 13 percent, with 3 percent at poverty-level. While Green had 14 percent, ALICE households, only 1 percent was at poverty level. Fredon’s ALICE household count was 15 percent, with 7 percent at poverty level.

“What this shows,” said Laura Bruno, public relations director of the United Way of Northern New Jersey, “is there is another segment (communities like Sparta, Green and Fredon) with lower levels of poverty and ALICE households that are still trying to make ends meet. These communities with typically lower levels of poverty expand the definition of financial hardship.”

Bruno said New Jersey ranked 38th in the nation of cost of living versus wages. Hoopes said in spite of its ranking, most New Jerseyans are not reaping the trending benefits of lower unemployment and a higher stock market.

“Things got worse after the Great Recession (of 2008),” Hoopes said. “We were expecting a great recovery. Families are still struggling and this (the ALICE report) is the way to measure.”

Bruno told the New Jersey Herald the United Way offers programs to connect the community to resources — among them is the United Way’s free and confidential “211” 24-hour hotline with information about financial, health, domestic and disaster-related support. Bruno also said the United Way offers a free tax preparation program annually, with volunteers helping to prepare IRS-certified tax returns.

“Low income workers may be eligible for tax credits,” Bruno added.

Bruno said strapped ALICE households may qualify for utility assistance program sand obtain food from local pantries, which do not usually usually have income qualifications.

The ALICE report garnered the attention of Gov. Phil Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-9). On Monday, Murphy issued a news release commenting on the importance of the report’s data in growing New Jersey’s economy.

Sweeney and Coughlin will be participating in a moderated forum today at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, addressing how state policy can assist ALICE families.

“Ultimately, our economy can’t grow if people can’t earn a livable wage,” Murphy said. “That’s why our economic agenda puts ALICE front-and-center, with a clear focus on creating good new jobs, on expanding workforce development and on the Opportunity Zones all across our state. But, we must also recommit to taking immediate action to raise New Jersey’s minimum wage and put it on a path to $15 an hour.”

To view the complete ALICE report, go to: www.unitedwayalice.org/new-jersey.

Jennifer Jean Miller can be reached by phone at: 973-383-1230; and on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/JMillerNJH.