The Center for Economic and Policy Research and the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts have released the results of their study on the 10 worst jobs in America, and how many people have them. According to their report (PDF file: May take a while to load), "We call a job that pays less than $17 per hour, and has no paid, employer-provided health insurance, and has no employer-sponsored pension plan, a 'bad' job."

I would argue that it's entirely possible that someone can have a good job paying $17 per hour with poor benefits --most high school students would be thrilled to make $17 an hour at their summer jobs. But in any case, 87% of restaurant host and counter-attendant jobs met the "bad job" criteria. Other leading bad jobs were ushers, pattern-makers, lifeguards, models and dishwashers -- no real surprises here.

But the report does contain some interesting commentary. Men are more likely to have bad jobs now, while women are more likely to have good jobs: "The share of men in good jobs fell sharply between 1985 (34.3%) and 1995 (29.9%) and, again, through 2006 (27.2%). Meanwhile, for women, the good jobs share rose across comparable points in the three cycles: from 13.5% in 1985, to 16.6% in 1995, to 18.7% in 2006."

Reflecting on earlier research, the authors express their concern that increasing GDP and educational attainment are not leading to improved wages and benefits.

To learn more about the tough reality facing job-seekers today, check out Anya Kamenetz's Generation Debt.