A 2021 study from the University of Chicago found that between 2011 and 2018, 53% of Americans living in homeless shelters were employed either full-time or part-time. In addition, 40% of unsheltered people had jobs.
The Washington Post reported that homelessness is increasing among people with jobs. Two reasons are rapidly increasing rent and a decrease in affordable housing.
Some of the problems homeless workers and the unemployed homeless deal with include discrimination from employers because they are unhoused, difficulty getting transportation to work, and lack of accommodations to compensate for not having a place to live.
The number of homeless workers is at risk of increasing even further. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, only a few states have a minimum wage that pays enough for someone to afford a one-bedroom rental.
The rise in homelessness “is the unfortunate but predictable result of ongoing rent increases,” said Gregg Colburn, an urban economics professor at the University of Washington. “And now it’s happening not just in our big coastal cities but all over the place.”