(LB02-22-24) The Association Between Precarious Employment and Food and Nutrition Insecurity Among Women in Chicago

Objectives: Prior studies document that precarious employment (PE), often characterized by job instability, low wages, limited benefits, and few protections, is widespread in the U.S. and is disproportionately experienced by women of color. This study aimed to test the association between PE and food and nutrition security.

Methods: To test the association between PE and food and nutrition security, we draw on an analytic sample of 88 women who were recruited as part of a pilot study conducted in Chicagoland in 2023. Women completed an online survey, which included questions on their demographic information, indicators of PE, food security (using the 2-item USDA screener), nutrition security (“in the last 30 days, I worried that the food I was able to eat would hurt my health and well-being”). A PE score was constructed from 25 questions on employment quality (e.g., advanced work schedule, employer offered health insurance, union membership), using a principal components analysis. We used adjusted logistic regression to test the association between PE and food and nutrition insecurity (binary variables); models were adjusted for age, nativity, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, and number of children in the household.

Results: The sample was diverse in age (18-30 years: 27%, 31-40 years: 29%; 41-50 years: 23%; 51-64 years: 22%), education level (< = highschool: 14%; some college: 28%; bachelor’s degree: 38%; graduate degree: 21%), and race/ethnicity (NH-Black: 33%, Hispanic: 38%). A majority of the sample was lower income as 55% reported earning < $40,000, with 26% reporting earning $40-60,000 annually at their primary job. Regarding PE findings, NH-Black and Hispanic women, and women with lower educational attainment, were the most precariously employed. Every 10% increase in PE was associated with a 49% higher odds of food insecurity (95% CI: 1.13, 1.98). However, higher PE was not significantly associated with nutrition insecurity (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 0.85, 1.35).

Conclusions: Higher PE is associated with higher food insecurity. Given the well-established associations between food insecurity and diet and health, larger studies are warranted, as is considering policies to reduce PE.

Funding Sources: University of Illinois Cancer Center (UICC)’s American Cancer Society (ACS) Institutional Research Grant (VO), T32CA057699 (MLO).