Social, Economic, Spatial, and Commuting Patterns of Informal Jobholders
April 2007
Working Paper Number:
tp-2007-02
Abstract
A significant number of employees within the United States can be considered "informal" or
"off-the-books" workers. These workers, who by definition do not appear in administrative wage
records, are distinct from the larger group of private jobholders who do appear in administrative
records. However, while socioeconomic and spatial information on these individuals is readily
available in standard datasets, such as the 2000 Decennial Census Long Form, it is not possible
to identify the informal workers by only using such data because of the lack of accurate, formal
wage records. This study takes advantage of firm-based data that originates in Unemployment
Insurance administrative wage records linked with the Census Bureau's household-based data in
order to examine informal jobholders by their demographic characteristics as well as their
economic, commuting, and spatial location outcomes. In addition this report evaluates whether
informal jobholders should be included explicitly in future labor-workforce analyses and
transportation modeling. The analyses in this report use the sample of workers who lived in Los
Angeles County, California.
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:
employee,
employed,
job,
immigrant,
employment data,
workforce,
worker,
clerical,
residential,
socioeconomic,
citizen,
residence,
residing
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Metropolitan Statistical Area,
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Service Annual Survey,
Decennial Census,
Census Industry Code,
Unemployment Insurance,
Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas,
American Community Survey,
Social Security Number,
Longitudinal Employer Household Dynamics,
LEHD Program,
Protected Identification Key,
2010 Census
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