This research was funded by the Washington State Labor Research Grant of the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies.

Report written by grant recipient Will von Geldern

Work in the U.S. has become increasingly defined by stagnant wages and other undesirable or harmful characteristics. Past research has used the multidimensional concept of “precarious employment” to describe the prevalence and harmful impacts of these characteristics such as low wages, unpredictable working hours, job-related health risks, limited training opportunities, and social isolation at work. A trend towards lower quality work is readily apparent in Washington State, where women and people of color are particularly likely to hold positions that bear attributes of precarious employment.

Another parallel – and similarly troubling – trend in Washington is the increasing prevalence of housing insecurity. One manifestation of this insecurity is eviction filings in civil court, which also disproportionately target women and people of color. This report analyzes the connections between experiences of precarious employment and eviction from a recent study supported by a Washington State Labor Research Grant from the Harry Bridges Center. The study was based on qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews (n=23) with tenants who experienced an eviction in Washington in 2023 and 2024.

In these interviews, tenants described the relationship between their work trajectories and housing insecurity. Although housing insecurity and evictions are typically linked with low wage work in sociological literature, interview participants’ responses showed how a multidimensional approach to understanding work and working conditions can deepen our understanding of the links between employment and housing outcomes.

Most study participants (87.0%) reported household income of less than $40,000 in the year leading up to their eviction, and 69.6% of participants reported educational attainment of high school equivalence or less. For many of these households, low wages left them able to pay their rent for some time but unable to withstand unanticipated challenges to their health, employment situations, relationships, or other aspects of their or their families’ wellbeing. This finding aligns with other research showing how financial precarity can create the conditions for evictions and longer-term housing insecurity. 

Beyond low wages, interview participants also described other aspects of precarious employment as key factors that led to their eviction. Employment security and a lack of social protections were two most commonly referenced factors outside of wages that prevented tenants from avoiding an eviction. Both factors were common across all income and education levels, and across demographic categories (race and gender) and different household sizes. This finding may help explain why evictions have become such a common occurrence across the U.S in recent years as employment arrangements have become increasingly insecure and many social protections have stagnated or eroded.

One notable example of the convergence between job insecurity and lacking social protections were visible in the story of a tenant who reported over $60,000 per year but nonetheless was evicted from his home. Geoffrey (a pseudonym) was a unionized welder who had moved to Washington State because of the higher wages available in his industry in Washington, but had his hours cut and was eventually laid off when his company suffered during the economic disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. He had recently moved into a larger home to accommodate his spouse’s family, and limited income from unemployment after his job loss left him increasingly behind on rent which led his landlord to file for eviction. Geoffrey’s example highlights the overlapping crises facing tenants who are going through an eviction. For some tenants, low-wage employment is a main cause of eviction – but for others, limited social support does not allow them to endure a sudden job loss or medical emergency and leads them to fall behind on rent.

Although the study only included a small number of participants, the sample also reflected the racial and gender disproportionalities that scholars have observed in eviction filings. More than half of study participants were people of color in a state despite the study being situated in a state that is predominantly white, and nearly half (47.8%) of participants identified as women of color. Interviews also frequently referenced challenges that – like precarious employment – are particularly common for women of color, such as domestic violence and challenges in access to high quality childcare.

Despite the many tenant protections that Washington has put in place in recent years, evictions remain commonplace across the state. This research shed light on how each dimension of precarious employment can lead to housing insecurity and ultimately to an eviction. Findings also help explain why racial and gender disproportionalities in precarious employment and housing insecurity are closely linked and enduring. These findings suggest that policies which increase wages among low-income communities and promote better social protections may help address the causes of the eviction crisis in socially and economically marginalized communities.