California Policy Lab

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.

This work has been supported, in part, by the University of California Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives grant MRP-19-600774.