Working for Peanuts: Nonstandard Work and Food Insecurity Across Household Structure

This study investigates the relationship between household head’s work form (by considering number of hours worked and multiple job holding) and household food insecurity utilizing the Food Security Supplement to the Current Population Survey. Households where the head is employed in multiple jobs, in work with varied hours, or part-time work are more likely to be food insecure than households with a head in a regular full-time job, even when controlling for income and other social demographic characteristics. Models are estimated separately for married couple, cohabiting, male-headed, female-headed and single-person households to show the interaction between work form and household structure. The relationship between food insecurity and nonstandard work arrangements may be due to unstable incomes and complex schedules.