Economic Roulette

Abstract

When is a job not a job?Complementing previous literature on welfare reform and the character of jobs in the lowwage labour market, we illustrate the lack of regularity and security that mark the jobs held by many low-income mothers. To do so, we present a typology of mothers' work patterns and illustrate their experiences through case examples. Our qualitative analysis of longitudinal pathways-to-work in three cities involved an examination of the experiences of 99 diverse, low-income working mothers with a young child. The work patterns that emerged from this analysis include: continuous duration of a single job; multiple job spells; underemployment; and churning in and out of employment. Findings indicate that a complicated 'coming together' of well-paying stable jobs, consistent aid from public systems and stable family networks are necessary for mothers to take even the first steps into stable employment.Para complementar la literature previa sobre reformes de asistencia social y el cara´cter de trabajo en el mercado laboral de sueldo bajo, ilustramos la falta de regularidad y seguridad que tipifican los puestos de trabajo de muchas madres de bajos ingresos. A este fin, presentamos una tipología de pautas laborales para estas madres e ilustramos sus experiencias dando casos de ejemplo. Nuestra ana´lisis cualitativo de caminos al trabajo longitudinales en tres ciudades supuso un examen de las experiencias de 99 diversas madres de bajos ingresos y con un hijo pequeño. Las pautas laborales que salen de este análisis incluyen: duración contínua de un solo trabajo; multiples temporadas de trabajo; subempleo; y giro contínuo de empleo a desempleo. Los resultados indican que es necesaria una reunio´n complicada de pautas de trabajos estables y bien remunerados, ayuda constante de sistemas públicos y redes familiares estables para que las madres puedan tomar hasta los primeros pasos hacia empleo estable.

More than Money? Job Quality and Food Insecurity among Employed Lone Mother Households in the United States

“…The coefficient of variation is commonly used in research on this topic (Rodems and Shaefer, 2020). Second, given qualitative research showing the difficulty mothers face seeking to approximate full-time work by piecing together multiple jobs (Lein et al, 2005), I include a variable assessing whether the mother worked multiple jobs simultaneously during the reference month. Third, Food Insecurity in Employed Lone Mother Households involuntary part-time work measures whether or not a respondent worked part-time due to either not being able to find a full-time job or due to slack work or material shortage at sometime during the Wave.…”

“…Third, Food Insecurity in Employed Lone Mother Households involuntary part-time work measures whether or not a respondent worked part-time due to either not being able to find a full-time job or due to slack work or material shortage at sometime during the Wave. Qualitative studies suggested that mothers with inadequate hours or wages will be engaged in constant job search at the same time they are working (Lein et al, 2005), which will again limit the time and energy needed to provide food for their families. Last, I also construct a variable measuring whether or not a mother experienced at least one period of job loss in the past year.…”

“…One of the primary goals of TANF was to encourage mothers to work, through the imposition of work requirements and limiting the time that lone mothers could qualify for cash assistance (London et al , 2004; Edin and Kissane, 2010). Evidence reveals that the women who transitioned into work from this programme mostly entered into low quality and unstable employment (Lein et al , 2005; Moffitt and Garlow, 2018).…”

“…Regarding lone mother households, the primary focus of work activation policies, such as TANF, has been to encourage mothers to work (Immervoll and Scarpetta, 2012). This focus ignores the fact that most lone mothers may only be able to obtain low quality jobs that will not provide them with an income high enough to avoid food insecurity (Lein et al ., 2005; Nieuwenhuis and Maldonado, 2018). Additionally, many work activation programmes have provisions that decrease the amount of financial support recipients can access for failure to comply with work and other requirements (i.e.…”