Work after welfare: Women's work effort, occupation, and economic well-being

• Published in: Social work research Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 69 - 86
• Main Authors: Cancian, Maria, Meyer, Daniel R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01-06-2000; National Association of Social Workers
• Subjects: Analysis; Children; Constant coefficients; Employment; Labor Force Participation; Low income groups; Low income women; Occupations; Outcomes; policy; poverty; Public assistance programs; Single status; Social service; Socioeconomic Status; USA; Variable coefficients; Wages; Welfare benefits; Welfare economics; Welfare Recipients; Welfare Reform; Wellbeing; women's work; Workfare; Working mothers; Working Women; United States
• ISSN: 1070-5309; 1545-6838
• DOI: 10.1093/swr/24.2.69

Current welfare reforms attempt to move low-income women with children from reliance on welfare to work. The logic of some current efforts relies on the thesis that employment, even in low-paying jobs, leads eventually to self-sufficiency. With data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, the authors analyzed the relationship between work history and economic success during the first five years after women leave welfare. They found that over time median wages and hours worked increased and that earnings generally improved. Nonetheless, even in the fifth year, only one in four consistently worked full-time. Although current welfare reforms are focused on moving women into jobs quickly, results cited in this article suggest that employment itself is not a guarantee of economic success.