Objective: This longitudinal study aimed to measure precarious employment in the US using a multidimensional indicator. Methods: We used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1988–2016) and the Occupational Information Network database to create a longitudinal precarious employment score (PES) among 7568 employed individuals over 18 waves (N=101 290 observations). We identified 13 survey indicators to operationalize 7 dimensions of precarious employment, which we included in our PES (range: 0–7, with 7 indicating the most precarious): material rewards, working-time arrangements, stability, workers’ rights, collective organization, interpersonal relations, and training. Using generalized estimating equations, we estimated the mean PES and changes over time in the PES overall and by race/ethnicity, gender, education, income, and region. Results: On average, the PES was 3.17 [standard deviation (SD) 1.19], and was higher among women (3.34, SD 1.20), people of color (Hispanics: 3.24, SD 1.23; non-Hispanic Blacks: 3.31, SD 1.23), those with less education (primary: 3.99, SD 1.07; high school: 3.43, SD 1.19), and with lower-incomes (3.84, SD 1.08), and those residing in the South (3.23, SD 1.17). From 1988 to 2016, the PES increased by 9% on average [0.29 points; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.26–0.31]. While precarious employment increased over time across all subgroups, the increase was largest among males (0.35 points; 95% CI 0.33–0.39), higher-income (0.39 points; 95% CI 0.36–0.42) and college-educated (0.37 points; 95% CI 0.33–0.41) individuals. Conclusions: Long-term decreases in employment quality are widespread in the US. Women and those from racialized and less-educated populations remain disproportionately precariously employed; however, we observed large increases among men, college graduates and higher-income individuals.

No abstract

The fringe banking industry, including payday lenders and check cashers, was nearly nonexistent three decades ago. Today it generates tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. The industry's growth accelerated in the 1980s with financial deregulation and the working class's declining resources. With Current Population Survey data, we used propensity score matching to investigate the relationship between fringe loan use, unbanked status, and self-rated health, hypothesizing that the material and stress effects of exposure to these financial services would be harmful to health. We found that fringe loan use was associated with 38 percent higher prevalence of poor or fair health, while being unbanked (not having one's own bank account) was associated with 17 percent higher prevalence. Although a variety of policies could mitigate the health consequences of these exposures, expanding social welfare programs and labor protections would address the root causes of the use of fringe services and advance health equity.

Applying a relational class theory based on property ownership, authority, and credentials/skill, we analyzed the relationship between class, self-rated health (SRH), and mortality using the 1972–2016 General Social Survey. In a simple measure of class, we assigned respondents to worker, manager, petty bourgeois, or capitalist classes. In a complex measure, we subdivided workers (less-skilled/more-skilled), managers (low/high), and capitalists (small/large). Next, we estimated trends in class structure. Finally, after gender-stratification, we estimated the relationships between class, SRH, and mortality and, in sensitivity analyses, tested for class-by-race interaction. Class structure changed little over time, with workers constituting over half the population each decade. Concerning SRH, for the simple measure, managers, petty bourgeoisie, and capitalists reported better health than workers. For the complex measure, patterns were similar, although skilled workers reported better health than less-skilled workers, low managers, and petty bourgeoisie. Concerning mortality, for the simple measure, inequities were small among women; among men, only capitalists’ hazard was lower than workers’ hazard. For the complex measure, across genders, the hazards of less-skilled workers and petty bourgeoisie were highest, while skilled workers’ hazard resembled that of managers and capitalists. Finally, we found some evidence that the relationship between class and mortality varied by race, although the estimates were imprecise.

The working lives of Americans have become less stable over the past several decades and older adults may be particularly vulnerable to these changes in employment quality (EQ). We aimed to develop a multidimensional indicator of EQ among older adults and identify EQ and retirement trajectories in the United States. Using longitudinal data on employment stability, material rewards, workers’ rights, working-time arrangements, unionization, and interpersonal power relations from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we used principal component analysis to construct an EQ score. Then, we used sequence analysis to identify late-career EQ trajectories (age 50–70 years; N = 11,958 respondents), overall and by sociodemographics (race, gender, educational attainment, marital status). We subsequently examined the sociodemographic, employment, and health profiles of these trajectories. We identified 10 EQ trajectories; the most prevalent trajectories were Minimally Attached and Wealthy (13.9%) and Good EQ to Well-off Retirement (13.7%), however, 42% of respondents were classified into suboptimal trajectories. Those in suboptimal trajectories were disproportionately women, people of color, and less-educated. Individuals in the Poor EQ to Delayed and Poor Retirement and Unattached and Poor clusters self-reported the greatest prevalence of poor health and depression, while individuals in the Wealthy Business Owners and Great EQ to Well-off Retirement clusters self-reported the lowest prevalence of poor health and depression at baseline. Trajectories were substantially constrained for women of color. Although our study demonstrates EQ is inequitably distributed in later life, labor organizing and policy change may afford opportunities to improve EQ and retirement among marginalized populations.