Abstract: In the US, work opportunities for those with lower levels of formal education have moved in recent years toward service employment, and this concentration is especially strong among households with children. Even compared to other jobs for those without college degrees, service work is characterized by shorter tenure and less access to full-time hours, patterns that are visible in national data and are more pronounced for those with children. In novel data collected through daily text-message reports from hourly service workers with young children, we document additional patterns of volatility that have not previously been visible: in particular, daily and weekly volatility in work hours. We show that this volatility requires workers aiming to maximize their earnings to set aside many more hours for work than they are actually paid for–on average, twice as many.  We develop novel statistics to capture these forms of volatility and to describe their sources. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for both means-tested programs and earnings-linked tax credits, the two major forms of income support provided by the federal government to families with children.

Anna Gassman-Pines is a professor of public policy and psychology and neuroscience at Duke University. She is also a Faculty Affiliate of Duke’s Center for Child and Family Policy. Gassman-Pines received her BA with distinction in Psychology from Yale University and PhD in Community and Developmental Psychology from New York University. Her research focuses on low-wage work, family life and the effects of welfare and employment policy on child and maternal well-being in low-income families. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, American Psychological Association, National Head Start Association, and National Institute of Mental Health, and various private foundations.