Characteristics of Low-Wage Workers and Their Labor Market Experiences:
Evidence from the Mid- to Late 1990s

Appendix C:
Supplementary Tables To Chapter III

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Table

1. Table C.1. Distribution Of Characteristics Of Low-Wage Workers In The Entry Cohort And March 1996 Cross-Sectional Samples, By Gender
2. Table C.2. Employment Rates And The Number Of Job And Employment Spells During The Three And One-Half Years After Job Start For Low-, Medium-, And High-Wage Workers, By Wage Type And Gender
3. Table C.3. Time Spent In Labor Activities During The Three And One-Half Years After Job Start For Low-, Medium-, And High-Wage Workers, By Wage Type And Gender
4. Table C.4. Multivariate Analysis Findings For Additional Overall Employment Measures During The 42-Month Period, By Gender

Table C.1.
Distribution Of Characteristics Of Low-Wage Workers In The Entry Cohort
And March 1996 Cross-Sectional Samples, By Gender
(Percentages)

Characteristics	Male Low-Wage Workers		Female Low-Wage Workers		All Low-Wage Workers
	Cross-Section	Entry Cohort	Cross-Section	Entry Cohort	Cross-Section	Entry Cohort
Individual and Household Characteristics
Gender
Females	0	0	100	100	57	59
Males	100	100	0	0	43	41
Age
Younger than 20	5	13	4	8	4	10
20 to 29	34	43	27	38	30	40
30 to 39	27	22	29	26	28	25
40 to 49	19	13	23	17	21	15
50 to 59	12	6	14	9	13	8
60 or older	3	4	4	2	3	3
Race/Ethnicity
White and other non-Hispanic	68	72	76	74	73	73
Black, non-Hispanic	14	14	14	14	14	14
Hispanic	18	14	10	12	14	12
Educational Attainment
Less than high school/GED	22	27	17	18	19	22
High school/GED	43	43	45	43	44	43
Some college	17	16	18	17	17	17
College graduate or more	18	14	21	21	20	19
Has a Health Limitation	9	12	9	10	9	11
Household Type
Single adults with children	10	12	18	25	15	20
Married couples with children	36	37	39	37	37	37
Married couples without children	26	24	25	20	25	22
Other adults without children	28	26	18	18	23	21
Household Income as a Percentage of the Poverty Level
100 percent or less	14	22	12	21	13	21
101 to 200 percent	31	29	27	30	29	30
More than 200 percent	55	49	61	49	59	49
Job Characteristics
Hourly Wages
Less than $5.00	26	25	27	30	27	28
$5.00 to $5.99	24	25	26	31	25	28
$6.00 to $6.99	28	30	27	26	28	28
$7.00 to $7.50	22	20	20	12	21	15
(Average hourly wage in dollars)	5.62	5.73	5.54	5.40	5.58	5.53
Usual Hours Worked per Week
1 to 19	3	8	9	15	6	12
20 to 34	13	20	25	30	20	26
35 to 40	51	54	52	47	52	50
More than 40	34	19	14	8	22	12
(Average hours worked)	42.9	37.5	35.6	31.4	38.5	33.9
Weekly Earnings
Less than $150	15	22	29	39	23	32
$150 to $299	64	66	63	57	63	60
$300 to $600	21	12	8	4	13	8
(Average weekly earnings in dollars)	240	217	196	172	215	191
Covered by Health Insurance	41	24	57	34	50	29
Occupation
Professional/technical	14	7	14	8	14	7
Sales/retail	11	11	16	17	14	15
Administrative support/clerical	5	8	20	20	14	15
Service professions/ handlers/cleaners	30	36	36	39	33	38
Machinists/construction/production/ transportation	32	29	13	13	21	20
Farm/agricultural/other workers	8	11	1	3	4	6
Sample Size	3,486	522	5,044	817	8,530	1,339
Source: SIPP March 1996 cross-sectional sample, and an entry cohort sample of those in the longitudinal panel file who started low-wage jobs during the first six months of the panel period. Note: Cross-sectional figures are weighted using the 1996 calendar year weight, and entry cohort figures are weighted using the longitudinal panel weight.

Table C.2.
Employment Rates And The Number Of Job And Employment Spells During
The Three And One-Half Years After Job Start For Low-, Medium-,
And High-Wage Workers, By Wage Type And Gender
(Percentages)

	Starting Wage Type of the First Job Held in Panel Months 1 to 6
	Male Workers			Female Workers
	Low-Wage	Medium-Wage	High-Wage	Low-Wage	Medium-Wage	High-Wage
Employment Rates (Percentages)
Type of Job Ever Held
High-wage job	14	45	100	5	33	100
Medium-wage job	72	100	49	54	99	45
Low-wage job	100	46	14	100	45	21
Combinations of Jobs Ever Held
Low-, medium-, and high-wage	12	19	14	4	11	17
Low- and medium-wage	57	27	0	46	32	0
Low- and high-wage	1	0	2	1	1	8
Medium- and high-wage	0	23	36	0	18	28
Low-wage only	30	0	0	49	0	0
Medium-wage only	0	31	0	0	39	0
High-wage only	0	0	49	0	0	47
Average Number of Job and Employment Spells
Job Spells	3.0	2.6	2.3	2.9	2.3	2.2
Employment Spells	1.9	1.5	1.4	1.8	1.4	1.4
Distribution of the Number of Job and Employment Spells (Percentages)
Jobs
1	24	31	45	23	38	30
2	22	24	24	26	25	41
3	21	21	14	21	20	16
4 or more	33	25	17	29	18	13
Employment Spells
1	48	65	79	49	68	68
2	29	23	10	31	22	26
3 or more	23	13	11	20	9	6
Sample Size	521	545	258	814	464	125
Source: 1996 SIPP longitudinal files using the entry cohort sample of workers who started jobs within six months after the start of the panel period. All workers were followed for 42 months after job start. Note: All figures are weighted using the longitudinal panel weight.

Table C.3.
Time Spent In Labor Activities During The Three And One-Half Years After Job Start
For Low-, Medium-, And High-Wage Workers, By Wage Type And Gender
(Percentages)

	Starting Wage Type of the First Job Held in Panel Months 1 to 6
	Male Workers			Female Workers
	Low-Wage	Medium-Wage	High-Wage	Low-Wage	Medium-Wage	High-Wage
Average Percentage of Months Spent in Labor Market Activities
All Jobs	83	92	93	76	88	89
Low-wage jobs	55	11	4	58	11	5
Medium-wage jobs	26	69	15	17	68	15
Higher-wage jobs	3	12	74	1	10	70
Unemployment	7	4	2	5	2	3
Not in the Labor Force	10	5	5	19	10	8
Distribution of the Percentage of Time Spent in Labor Market Activities
All Jobs
0 to 25	5	2	3	10	4	5
25 to 50	6	2	2	11	5	2
50 to 75	13	6	3	14	6	6
75 to 99	36	31	18	30	30	28
100	40	59	75	35	56	58
Low-Wage Jobs
0 to 25	20	84	94	20	85	94
25 to 50	25	10	4	22	9	1
50 to 75	24	5	2	21	5	5
75 to 99	21	2	0	22	2	0
100	10	0	0	15	0	0
Medium-Wage Jobs
0 to 25	59	10	80	74	14	79
25 to 50	19	18	9	11	16	9
50 to 75	14	20	6	12	18	6
75 to 99	9	32	5	3	28	7
100	0	20	0	0	24	0
High-Wage Jobs
0 to 25	96	83	13	98	83	17
25 to 50	3	10	12	1	8	11
50 to 75	2	6	8	1	7	15
75 to 99	0	2	29	0	1	24
100	0	0	37	0	0	33
Unemployment
0 to 25	93	97	98	96	98	99
25 to 50	6	2	2	4	2	1
50 to 75	1	0	0	1	0	0
75 to 99	1	0	0	0	0	0
Not in the Labor Force
0 to 25	87	94	95	72	87	90
25 to 50	8	4	2	13	5	3
50 to 75	2	2	1	8	4	3
75 to 99	3	1	2	8	4	4
Average Number of Hours Per Week Worked
All Jobs	33	39	41	26	33	33
Low-Wage Jobs	21	5	2	20	4	1
Medium-Wage Jobs	11	29	7	6	25	6
High-Wage Jobs	1	5	33	0	4	26
Sample Size	521	545	258	814	464	125
Source: 1996 SIPP longitudinal files using the entry cohort sample of workers who started jobs within six months after the start of the panel period. All workers were followed for 42 months after job start. Note: All figures are weighted using the longitudinal panel weight.

Table C.4.
Distribution Of Job Characteristics Of Low-Wage Workers In March 1996,
By Typology And Gender
(Percentages)

Explanatory Variable	Regression-Adjusted Means for the Denoted Dependent Variable
	Male Workers			Female Workers
	Percentage of Months in All Jobs	Percentage of Months in Low-Wage Jobs	Percentage in Higher-Wage Jobs for Less than 25 Percent of Months	Percentage of Months in All Jobs	Percentage of Months in Low-Wage Jobs	Percentage in Higher-Wage Jobs for Less than 25 Percent of Months
Individual Characteristics
Age
Younger than 20(+)	81	57	65	65	52	80
20 to 29	86	54	49*	75**	54	72
30 to 39	87	53	51	77***	58	70
40 to 49	83	52	60	85***	66***	71
50 to 59	79	62	71	85***	66***	74
60 or older	71	58	78	74	58	74
Race/Ethnicity
White and other non-Hispanic(+)	87	55	51	78	58	71
Black, non-Hispanic	72***	49	70**	73*	57	73
Hispanic	84	60	63	75	60	81
Educational Attainment
Less than high school/GED(+)	81	54	61	71	56	80
High school/GED	86*	56	53	80***	63**	76
Some college	83	52	54	76	54	68*
College graduate or more	88*	57	53	78*	54	66*
Has a Health Limitation
No(+)	86	55	53	79	59	72
Yes	72***	52	71**	62***	48***	81
Household Characteristics
Household Type
Single adults with children(+)	82	51	52	80	61	72
Married couples with children	87	55	49	75*	58	76
Married couples without children	82	54	59	75	58	73
Other adults without children	84	57	62	79	55	63
Household Income as a Percentage of the Poverty Level
100 percent or less(+)	88	57	51	79	58	71
101 to 200 percent	85	55	55	72*	53	72
More than 200 percent	83*	53	58	79	61	73
Received Public Assistance in the Past Year
No(+)	85	55	55	78	59	72
Yes	80	56	64	71**	53	73
Area Characteristics
Region of Residence
Northeast(+)	87	57	55	83	54	62
South	79*	54	61	79	60	72
Midwest	86	56	56	77	62	77*
Northwest	83	51	49	71***	53	73
Lives in a Metropolitan Area
No	80	54	64	80	63	76
Yes	86**	55	52*	76*	56**	71
20th Percentile of the Hourly Wage Distribution in State
$250 or less(+)	83	54	58	77	59	74
$251 to $269	83	49	51	79	59	68
$270 or more	87	57	54	77	57	73
Percentage of State Population Residing in Metropolitan Areas
72 or less(+)	86	58	55	79	57	67
73 to 84	86	54	51	76	58	76*
85 or more	80	52	60	76	59	76
Poverty Rate in State
Less than 10 percent(+)	85	56	56	74	59	76
10 to 12 percent	83	52	53	78	57	71
More than 12 percent	85	56	57	79	59	71
Unemployment Rate in State
6 percent or less(+)	86	56	52	74	59	79
More than 6 percent	84	54	56	78	58	70
Change in Unemployment Rate in State of Residence Between 1996 and 1999 (Percentage Points)
-2 percentage points or less(+)	86	59	68	89	69	73
-1 to -2	83	54	54	76**	56**	71
More than -1	85	54	51	75**	58	76
Initial Job Characteristics
Hourly Wages
Less than $5.00(+)	83	62	66	69	57	84
$5.00 to $5.99	82	62	69	80***	65***	80
$6.00 to $6.99	88	50***	44***	81***	56	64***
$7.00 to $7.50	83	42***	42***	83***	48*	51***
Usual Hours Worked per Week
1 to 19(+)	79	54	71	70	56	79
20 to 34	82	55	60	78**	57	71
35 to 40	86*	56	54	80***	60	71
More than 40	84	50	49*	73	54	73
Has More than One Job or Business
No(+)	83	54	56	76	57	72
Yes	92***	60	52*	84***	65**	73
Owns Business (Self-Employed)
No(+)	84	56	57	77	58	73
Yes	88	41***	30**	89**	61	62
Covered by Health Insurance(a)
No(+)	83	56	60	79	61	74
Yes	87*	52	46**	76	55**	71
Union Member
No(+)	85	55	55	77	58	72
Yes	72**	45	63	73	54	72
Occupation
Professional/technical(+)	91	61	56	81	58	66
Sales/retail	86	54	48	77	55	69
Administrative support/ clerical	85	56	55	75	53	67
Service professions/ handlers/cleaners	83	56	60	79	62	75
Machinists/construction/ production/transportation	85	51	48	72*	59	85***
Farm/agricultural/other workers	80*	55	66	81	59	74
Regression R(2) Value	.21	.17	NA	.18	.15	NA
Sample Size	522	522	522	817	817	817
Source: 1996 SIPP longitudinal files using the entry cohort sample of workers who started low-wage jobs within six months after the start of the panel period. All workers were followed for 42 months after job start. Note:  All figures are weighted using the 1996 calendar year weight, and standard errors account for design effects due to weighting and clustering. a.  These figures pertain to health insurance coverage from all sources, including coverage through the employer as well as from other sources. We used this variable instead of the employer-based health insurance coverage variable, because data on overall health insurance coverage is available monthly, whereas the employer-based coverage variable pertains only to jobs in progress at the time of the interview. Thus, the employer-based health insurance variable could not always be linked to the job under investigation, which led to a significant number of missing values. However, the subsets of health insurance variables overlap considerably: the source of health insurance coverage was the employer for 80 percent of those with any coverage. +  Denotes the "left-out" explanatory variable in the regression model. *  Difference between the variable mean and the mean of the "left-out" explanatory variable is significantly different from zero at the .10 level, two-tailed test. **  Difference between the variable mean and the mean of the "left-out" explanatory variable is significantly different from zero at the .05 level, two-tailed test. ***  Difference between the variable mean and the mean of the "left-out" explanatory variable is significantly different from zero at the .01 level, two-tailed test.

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