underclass

(noun)

the poorest class of people in a given society

Related Terms

  • Poverty line
  • public assistance
  • manual labor

Examples of underclass in the following topics:

  • The Lower Class

    • Those who do not participate in the labor force, and who rely on public assistance, such as food stamps and welfare checks, as their main source of income, are commonly identified as members of the underclass, or, colloquially, the poor.
  • Poverty in the Colonies

    • The promise of a new life in America was a strong attraction for members of England’s underclass, who had few, if any, options at home.
    • The economy of the South, in particular, depended largely on slave labor, and there was effectively a large underclass of African slaves who had no economic, social, or political freedom.
  • Definitions

    • Steinberg demonstrated that social and economic disadvantages in society often come together, leading some sociologists talking about underclasses.
  • Class Structure in the U.S.

    • The lower class (27%) is divided into working poor (13%, earning $9000 to 18,000 per year) and underclass (14%, earning under $9000 per year).
  • Class

    • The lower or working class is sometimes separated into those who are employed as wage or hourly workers, and an underclass—those who are long-term unemployed and/or homeless, especially those receiving welfare from the state.
  • Understanding Tenured Jobs

    • Positions that carry tenure, or the opportunity to attain tenure, have grown more slowly than non-tenure-track positions, leading to a large "academic underclass".For example, most U.S. universities currently supplement the work of tenured professors with the services of non-tenured adjunct professors, academics who teach classes for lower wages and fewer employment benefits under relatively short-term contracts.
  • Social Class in the U.S.

    • The lower class (27%) is divided into the working poor (13%, earning $9000 to $18,000) and the underclass (14%, earning under $9000).
  • The Growth of Cities

    • Jefferson thought urban life widened the gap between the wealthy few and an underclass of landless poor workers who, because of their oppressed condition, could never be good republican property owners.
  • Social class in America

    • The lower class (27%) is divided into working poor (13%, earning $9000 to 18,000) and underclass (14%, earning under $9000).
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