In the United States, the lower class are those at or near the lower end of the
socio-economic hierarchy. As with all
social classes in the United States, the lower class is loosely defined and its boundaries and definitions subject to debate and ambiguous popular opinions.
Sociologists such as W. Lloyd Warner, Dennis Gilbert and James Henslin divide the lower classes into two. The contemporary division used by Gilbert divides the lower class into the
working poor and
underclass. Service and low-rung manual laborers are commonly identified as being among the working poor. Those who do not participate in the labor force and rely on public assistance as their main source of
income are commonly identified as members of the underclass. Overall the term describes those in easily filled employment positions with little
prestige or
economic compensation who often lack a
high school education and are to some extent disenfranchised from mainstream society.