Amid slow economic recovery, more Americans identify as 'lower class'

A small but surging share of Americans consider themselves 'lower class,' a surprise to some researchers and activists despite the bruising economy.

 

Chris Roquemore once thought of himself as working class. But it's hard to keep thinking that, he said, when you're not working.

The 28-year-old father said he sparred with his supervisors at a retail chain about taking time off after his mother died — and ended up unemployed. Since then, Roquemore has worked odd jobs and started studying nursing at Long Beach City College, trying to get "a career, not a job." All those changes, in turn, changed the way he thought of himself.

READ MORE:  http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-lower-class-20130916,0,5616335.story