Employment Among LA County Residents Experiencing Homelessness

POLICY BRIEF: Employment and Earnings Among LA County Residents Experiencing Homelessness  

TECHNICAL APPENDIX: Employment and Earnings Among LA County Residents Experiencing Homelessness  

PRESS RELEASE: New Study Finds a Substantial Number of Californians Are Working Before Becoming Homeless

The California Policy Lab found that a majority (74%) of people who enrolled to receive homeless services in Los Angeles between 2010 and 2018 had worked in California before enrolling for services. Over one third (37%) worked in the two years prior to receiving homeless services, and about one in five (19%) of individuals were working in the same calendar quarter that they enrolled to receive services. This report provides an in-depth analysis of employment dynamics for people before, during, and after homelessness. The report includes an analysis of quarterly and annual employment rates, earnings, and differences among various groups, with a focus on “recent workers” who had worked within three or four years prior to enrolling for services and who tended to have higher employment rates and earnings than the rest of the sample.

Select Media Coverage of Employment Among the Homeless in Los Angeles

LAist: Breaking Stereotypes: Study Finds Half of LA’s Homeless Recently Held Down A Job (Listen to the accompanying KPCC segment here). (February 27, 2020).

CBS Los Angeles:Nearly Half Of LA County’s Homeless Population Recently Worked, Study Finds (February 27, 2020).

KNX News Radio:  Click here to listen to Interview with Till von Wachter. (February 29, 2020).