Giving Compass' Take:

· Urban Institute explains that low-paying, temporary, and unstable jobs are increasing, but they do not provide job security nor lift working Americans out of poverty.

· In many cases, these jobs don't offer benefits like health insurance. How can philanthropy play a role in lifting people out of poverty?

· Here's more about how governments can boost quality jobs to ease economic insecurity.

Low-wage work is growing faster than higher-paying job sectors. And despite a strong labor market where demand for workers is high, short-term, seasonal, and temporary jobs remain on the rise. These low-paying and unstable jobs often don’t provide benefits such as health insurance, consistent scheduling, or job security.

The Urban Institute’s recent report on work requirements for residents in Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) public housing found that residents’ experiences with low-wage work is similar to national trends. Residents we interviewed said temporary, seasonal, or contractual jobs that lack benefits, job security, and affordable, reliable child care present challenges to finding and retaining employment.

Some politicians are discussing instituting work requirements for people who use programs such as Medicaid, public housing, or the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) as a strategy to help people exit public housing or decrease the use of government subsidized programs. But our Chicago case study suggests that although most working age residents in CHA are employed and meet the policy requirement, their jobs do not pay enough to allow them to afford market rate housing or stop using public programs such as SNAP and Medicaid.

Read the full article about unstable employment and poverty by Leiha Edmonds at Urban Institute.