Who Got Earned Income? Health and Other Barriers to Employment for Young Millennials in HUD-Assisted and Other Rental Housing

Abstract

Abstract Purpose This research examines the effects of health, location, and other factors on receipt of wage income for young heads of households, aged 19 to 25, who lived in HUD-assisted housing and in other rental housing in 2011. Methodology/approach This chapter reports results of analyses of the 2011 American Housing Survey, merged with HUD administrative records, available as a public-use file at the U.S. Census Bureau. Findings Nineteen percent of young householders in assisted housing and 8% in other rental housing reported less than good health or a disability. Nearly two-thirds of young householders in assisted housing reported receipt of earned income. For respondents in assisted housing who reported good health and no disabilities, logistic regression models suggest that educational attainment beyond a high school diploma, more than one adult in the household, and living in metropolitan areas in the Midwest or West census regions were positively and statistically significant for receipt of earned income. For respondents in both assisted and other rental housing who reported less than good health and/or disabilities, residence in assisted housing or educational attainment beyond a high school diploma were positively associated with receipt of earned income, while residence in the metropolitan South lowered the odds of receipt of earned income. Social implications Success of self-sufficiency programs will depend on accommodating the imperatives created by health, disability, and structural impediments created by a market economy. Originality/value This is the first analysis of health/disability and other barriers to paid employment that accurately identifies a nationally representative sample of young Millennials in HUD-assisted and other rental housing.