Predicting Labor-Force Participation Among Work-Able Public Housing Residents

Critics of U.S. public housing often argue that the program discourages nonemployed residents from looking for work, yet little research has actually explored how public housing residents make decisions about whether to look for work. Thus, this article explores what factors distinguish nonemployed residents who are in the labor force (actively looking for work) from those who are out of the labor force (not actively looking for work). Relying on a sample of nonelderly, nondisabled public housing residents from Charlotte, North Carolina, we find that nonemployed residents who were older and showed signs of depression were more likely to be out of the labor force. In contrast, residents who were younger, had previously completed jobs training, or had some college education were more likely to be in the labor force. These findings suggest that health, education, and life-course stage may play an important role in determining nonemployed residents’ decision to look for work. Our conclusion discusses how these factors may influence labor-force participation and the relevance of our findings to housing policymakers and scholars.