What, exactly, is the purpose of the labor market and the workforce? Many answers could be suggested, but two would rise to the top. First, labor is necessary to perform tasks for which there is a demand. In every type of business, from the airport to the zoo, necessary goods and services must be produced, distributed, marketed, retailed and otherwise supplied to consumers. Commerce and social enterprise are impossible without labor. Jobs sometimes become obsolete or are eliminated by automation. But no technology has ever diminished the total amount of work in a society that must be done by people.

Production of goods and services is only one reason for labor, though. The second reason is to provide households and individuals with incomes. Doing work and earning wages are the ways most people get money to buy their own goods and services. The idea that income and buying power should be spread broadly throughout the population was what prompted Henry Ford and other innovators in the early 20th century to raise wages. Ford understood that the success of his car company depended on having many thousands of customers who were able to afford the cars his company built. So he made it a company policy to pay high enough wages that his employees also could be active consumers.

Indianapolis employers pay their workers more than $36 billion in wages in a year. This section looks at the way incomes are distributed and who gets the greater share of income. We find in this section that even such a large sum isn’t adequate to keep everyone from poverty. Incomes are not equally distributed. But Indianapolis, in general, is moving in the direction of a fairer wage distribution. There are fewer very poor people now than 16 years ago, and a larger share of households earning high incomes.

One unusual feature of incomes in and around Indianapolis is the wide gap between urban and suburban incomes. It is not unusual for suburban residents to have higher incomes than city residents. But in Indianapolis, the gap is unusually wide. And nearly a third of all Indianapolis’ payroll is earned by commuters.

Further, we find income disparities among racial and ethnic groups, among age cohorts and among people with various education levels.

 

 
   
     
  College-educated povertyThe wage curve  
  Indianapolis incomes are risingIndianapolis is good at attracting talented workersRecent immigrant incomes are lowCentral indianapays a higher premium to college-educated workers than other metro regionsOccupational wage curve analysis  
  The income basicsIndianapolis wagesIncome by race, number of householdsIncomes are highest for the 45-64 age groupThree kinds of incomePovertyIndianapolis incomes: middle of the packNearly one in five Indianapolis workers lives outside the countyIncomes and educationwhere the income comes from  
  Income by race, share of householdsIndianapolis is America's most affordable housing marketMore than $10 billion is earned in Indianapolis by non-residentsHigh incomes are concentrated outside IndianapolisIndianapolis has a wider income gap than most other cities between its urban core and its metro area  
  Poverty in Indianapolis is highest among children and youthsPoverty and racePoverty happens to females more than males, even among childrenMost people in poverty work at least part timeMany in poverty work their way out