EMPLOYMENT AND WORK-RELATED RISK FACTOR 1. LABOR FORCE ATTACHMENT

This risk factor focuses exclusively on the participation of an adult in the labor market, without regard to whether means-tested assistance was received concurrently. Measuring labor force attachment reflects a critical aspect of the risk of dependence.

• Most individuals, regardless of race, lived in families with at least one person working full-time.
• Non-Hispanic blacks were more likely than Hispanics or non-Hispanic whites to live in families where no one was in the labor force. Non-Hispanic blacks were more likely than those in other racial groups to live in families in which there were no full-time workers.
• As shown in Table WORK 1, younger children were slightly more likely than older children to live in families with no one in the labor force.
• Table WORK 1 shows that working-age women were more likely than working-age men to live in families with no one in the labor force, and slightly more likely to live in families where the all labor force participants worked less than full-time.

Table WORK 1. Percent of All Individuals in Families with One or More Workers, 1993

Note: Full-time labor force participants are defined as those who usually work 35 or more hours per week.

Source: Unpublished data from the SIPP, 1993.

EMPLOYMENT AND WORK-RELATED RISK FACTOR 2. EMPLOYMENT AMONG THE LOW-SKILLED

This risk factor tracks trends in the percentage of men and women with 12 years of schooling or less who are engaged in paid employment. These trends illustrate a key risk of dependence.

• In 1994, 57 percent of black men with a maximum of twelve years of schooling were working compared to 75 and 74 percent, respectively, of similarly educated white and Hispanic men.
• The percentage of low-skilled men who were employed dropped drastically from the early 1970s to early 1980s for all racial groups, although most dramatically for black men. From 1970 to 1983 the percentage of low-skilled black men who were employed dropped 23 percentage points; for white men during the same period the percentage dropped 16 points. The percentage for Hispanic men fell 9 percentage points in the three years between 1980 and 1983.
• Since 1983, the percentage of low-skilled white men working increased three percentage points while the percentage for black men increased one percentage point.
• Conversely, the percentages of low-skilled female workers have increased since 1970. For white women, the percentage increased 13 points up to 57 percent; the percentage for black women increased 5 percent up to 54 percent in 1994.
• In all years, smaller percentages of low-skilled Hispanic women worked compared to other groups.

Table WORK 2. Percent of All Men and Women Age 18 to 65 with no more than a High School Education who are Employed

Note: These data have been weighted to create an average for all men and women with no more than a high school diploma using population numbers from U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P20. The population weights were calculated for 1970, 1980, and 1990 and the other weights were calculated using linear extrapolation.

Source: Blank, R., It Takes a Nation,1997.

EMPLOYMENT AND WORK-RELATED RISK FACTOR 3. EARNINGS OF LOW-SKILLED WORKERS

The economic condition of the low-skill labor market is key to the ability of young adult men and women to support families without receiving means-tested assistance. This measure tracks trends in the earnings of low-skilled workers.

• Men's mean weekly wages for full-time work have decreased in real terms over the past quarter of a century. In 1970 the mean weekly wage for a full-time working man was $593 (in 1995 dollars), the comparable wage in 1994 was $523, representing a decrease of 12 percent.
• A large gap exists between the mean weekly wages for white and black men, although it has been narrowing over time. In 1970 the mean weekly wage for white men working full-time was the equivalent of $615 in 1995 dollars, $183 higher than the average for blacks, $432. In 1994 the difference was $93, with white men receiving a mean wage of $539 and black men $446. In 1994 full-time working black men received 82 percent of the weekly wages of white men; in 1970 they received only 70 percent of the wages. The narrowing of this gap is predominantly a result of the declining value of white men's mean wages.

Table WORK 3. Mean Weekly Wages of Men Working Full-Time, Full-Year with no more than a High School Education, 1995 Dollars

Note: Full-time, full-year workers work at least 48 weeks per year and 35 hours per week. These data have been weighted to create an average for all men with no more than a high school diploma using population numbers from U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-20. The population weights were calculated for 1970, 1980, and 1990 and the other year weights were calculated using linear extrapolation.

Source: Blank, R., It Takes a Nation,1997.

EMPLOYMENT AND WORK-RELATED RISK FACTOR 4. ADULT/CHILD DISABILITY

Health conditions that limit parents' ability to work are important predictors of family economic problems and future dependence.

• In 1994, adults were more likely to have a functional disability than school-age children, and school-age children were in turn more likely to have a functional disability than younger children.
• As shown in Table WORK 4, the percentage of non-Hispanic blacks who reported a functional disability was larger than the percentages for non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics.

Table WORK 4. Percent of the Total Population Reporting a Disability , 1994

Note: Functional disability only includes those disabilities expected to last at least 12 months. Functional disabilities were defined as either: (1) limitations in or inability to perform a variety of physical activities (i.e. walking, lifting, reaching); (2) serious sensory impairments (i.e. inability to read newsprint even with glasses or contact lenses); (3) serious symptoms of mental illness (i.e. frequent depression or anxiety; frequent confusion, disorientation, or difficulty remembering) which has seriously interfered with life for the last year; (4) use of selected assistive devices (i.e. wheelchairs, scooter, walkers); (5) developmental delays for children identified by a physician (i.e. physical, learning); (6) for children under 5, inability to perform age-appropriate functions (i.e. sitting up, walking); and, (7) long-term care needs. Work disability is defined as limitations in or the inability to work as a result of a physical, mental or emotional health condition. Perceived disability is a new disability measure based on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and includes individuals who were perceived by themselves or others as having a disability. Disability program recipients include persons covered by Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Special Education Services, Early Intervention Services, and/or disability pensions.

Source: Unpublished data from the 1994 National Health Interview Survey on Disability, Phase I; 1994 NHIS, and 1994 Family Resources Supplement.

EMPLOYMENT AND WORK-RELATED RISK FACTOR 5. ADULT ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Adult alcohol and substance abuse is a risk factor for dependence.

• As shown in Table WORK 5, among adults age 18 to 34 cocaine use declined steadily from 1985 to 1994 but rose slightly from 1994 to 1996.
• Table WORK 5 shows that in every age group since 1985 the percentages of persons reporting binge alcohol use were larger than the percentages for all other reported behaviors.
• As shown in Table WORK 5, for the first time since 1988, marijuana use in 1996 was slightly more prevalent than heavy alcohol use among adults age 18 to 25. This was due to both increasing marijuana use and decreasing heavy alcohol use since 1992, a reversal of the prior trend.

Table WORK 5. Percent of Adults who used Cocaine, Marijuana or Alcohol, Selected Years

Note: Cocaine and marijuana use is defined as use during the past month. "Binge" Alcohol Use is defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion on at least one day in the past 30 days. "Occasion" means at the same time or within a couple hours of each other. Heavy Alcohol Use is defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion on each of five or more days in the past 30 days; all Heavy Alcohol Users are also "Binge" Alcohol Users. Data for 1996 are preliminary.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Preliminary Estimates, 1997.