(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - The Pew Research Center, a non-profit think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., has released a new report that shows how America’s Middle Class is no longer the majority.

The report shows the Middle Class currently stands at 49.9% in comparison to 61% in 1971.  Why?  Simply put, modern Trade Agreements have caused this Middle Class decline.  And -Income Inequality has worsened.  In short, the agreements put the brakes on Economic Growth.

The bottom line is: More American households make up the Middle Class than 40 years ago, yet they comprise a smaller share of overall wealth.

In early 2015, there were 120.8 million adults in Middle Income Households versus 70.3 million in Lower Income and 51 million in Upper Income households, according to the Pew Research Center.  However, the share of income held by Middle Income Families has plunged to 43% of households in 2015 versus 62% in 1971.  Low Income Households have remained stable (at around 9% in 2015) while the share of income held by Upper Income Households has surged to 49% in 2015 from 29% in 1971, the Pew Research Center Analysis showed.

“This is a ‘seminal day’ revealing how Trade Agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have ‘gutted’ the U.S. Middle Class," said Michael Stumo. “We’re ‘losing’ the ‘international competition’ for good paying jobs and ‘need to focus on winning again.’”

In fact, too many good paying jobs have been shipped overseas.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was supposed to create 200,000 American Jobs.  Instead it displaced more than 850,000 jobs.

Similarly, the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) was supposed to create 70,000 jobs.  Instead 75,000 jobs were destroyed.

According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI): More than five million U.S. Manufacturing Jobs were lost between 1997 and 2014, and most of those job losses were due to growing Trade Deficits with countries that have negotiated trade and investment deals with the United States.

A whopping 86% of Americans agree that that U.S. companies out-sourcing work to foreign countries is one of the reasons for our struggling economy and unemployment.  

“Ordinary Americans ‘understand’ what D.C. politicians ‘don’t’ - Trade Agreements are ‘hurting’ U.S. families and making our future ‘less secure,’” Stumo said.

To Directly Access This Labor News Story, Go to: www.prosperousamerica.org/u_s_middle_class_is_now_a_minority_for_the_first_time_due_to_trade_deals?utm_campaign=151210_pr&utm_medium=email&utm_source=prosperousamerica.

And for More on This Labor News Story, Read www.marketwatch.com’s Report, Headlined: America’s Middle Class Has Lost Nearly 30% Of Wealth - There Are Now More Middle-Income Families — With Less Of The Country’s Wealth, at www.marketwatch.com/story/americas-middle-class-has-lost-nearly-30-of-wealth-2015-12-09