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Affirmative Options Coalition commissioned an analysis from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. The analysis looked at the work history of parents enrolling on cash assistance in Minnesota in 2000, 2003 and 2007 – a tight labor market, a weak labor market and a transitional labor market. That analysis was able to look at the paid work information submitted by employers on the almost 96,000 parents who turned to cash assistance in those years. An overwhelming majority of parents turning to cash assistance have work history in MN - 80% were working sometime in the two years before applying for assistance
- 50% were working in the same quarter in which they applied for assistance
Higher unemployment increases the number of people turning to cash assistance, but it does not change the proportion who are coming straight from a job. Year
| 2000 | 2003
| 2007
| | | tight labor market | weak labor market
| transitional labor market | # enrolling in
cash assistance
| 28,628 | 35,585 | 31,566 | % coming straight
from a job | 50% | 50% | 50% |
The jobs these parents held were rarely fulltime. (There are 520 work hours in a quarter.) The work history of parents who turn to cash assistance | Median quarterly hours | Maximum quarterly hours
| Quarterly hours in last job held | | 188 | 339 | 75 |
Workers from certain industries are more likely turn to cash assistance after losing a job. Industry
| % of employed applicants
whose most recent job was in this industry | | Administrative & support | 16.9% (Temporary agencies) | | Retail trade | 13.8% | Accommodation & food service
| 13.7% | Health care & social service
| 13.3% | TOTAL
| 57.7% |
These workers are primarily women: 73% of the parents who enrolled on cash assistance in these years are women.
Implications:
- Only 40-50% of unemployed Minnesotans collect unemployment insurance.
- Although women are half of Minnesota’s labor force, they are only one-third of UI recipients.
What if the problem to be solved is not welfare? What if the problem is the hole in the unemployment safety net?
What if the problem is the increasing creation of part-time jobs and fluctuating schedules required of hourly workers? What if the problem is that not all workers have paid sick leave or family medical leave?
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