Title

Informal Labor Supply in the United States: New Estimates from the Fragile Families Survey

Author(s)

Samara Gunter Samara Gunter (Colby College)

Abstract

Past studies of the informal economy in the US focused on small geographic areas and select populations. This paper uses a nationally representative panel survey of urban parents, the largest and most diverse data yet, to describe the nature of informal work in the United States. Informal work is pervasive and widespread across demographic characteristics. Approximately 51 percent of urban fathers and 28 percent of urban mothers of young children pursue informal work over a five-year period. Individuals transition in and out of short, intense bouts of informal work. Conditional on participating, men work in the informal sector an average of 22 hours in a usual week (20 for women) and an average of 18 weeks during the year (18 for women).

Creation Date

2012-10

Section URL ID

CRCW

Paper Number

WP12-16-FF.pdf

URL

https://fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/sites/fragilefamilies/files/wp12-16-ff.pdf

File Function

Jel

D120, D630, I000, I320, J150

Keyword(s)

work, parents, urban mothers, young children

Suppress

false

Series

8