A disturbing trend is that many working mothers – and fathers – today are doing work that is measurably below their skills, experience, and compensation history. The U.S. is creating jobs now that are not up to standards in terms of pay, benefits, hours, and skills.

James C. Cooper reported in The Fiscal Times on Monday that the problem is beyond the recession’s reach and the recovery sluggishness. It also reflects the U.S. economy’s changing structure, as more manufacturing companies shift to overseas locations. Meanwhile, service businesses which typically pay far less have dominated job creation.

Large multinational corporations have cut 2.9 million U.S. jobs over the past decade and added 2.4 million workers to their overseas units.

The economic recovery has generated mostly lower paying jobs. Job growth in low-wage industries has been generally faster since the recovery began in mid 2009, according to economists at UBS, who track payrolls in industries where hourly wages are above the overall average vs. sectors with pay below the average. Job gains in the retail and hospitality sectors have accounted for 27 percent of this year’s job growth, but hourly pay is 32 percent and 43 percent, respectively, below the average for private-sector employees.

Hourly pay across almost all industries is barely rising, leading to tougher times for working families. According to the Labor Dept, average hourly earnings for private-sector employees in April were up only 1.9 percent from a year ago. Currently 13.7 million people — 9 percent of the labor force — are officially unemployed and another 10.6 million are too discouraged to seek work or forced to work only part time. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a long recovery for many working mothers and fathers.