Employed

Per Capita Income

Above Poverty

Economic

Preschool Enrollment

Bachelor's Education

High School Enrollment

Education

Voting

Census Response

Social

Automobile Access

Active Commuting

Transportation

Insured Adults

Healthcare Access

Retail Density

Park Access

Tree Canopy

Neighborhood

Severely Cost Burdened Low-Income Renters

Severely Cost Burdened Low-Income Homeowners

Housing Habitability

Uncrowded Housing

Homeownership

Housing

Ozone

Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)

Diesel Particulate Matter

Safe Drinking Water

Clean Environment

Extreme Heat

Impervious Surfaces

Outdoor Workers

Public Transit Access

Sea Level Rise

Two Parent Households

Alcohol Availability

Supermarket Access

Decision Support

Every household should be able afford the necessities of a healthy life—medical care, healthy food, quality housing, education, and other basics.  Stable employment provides people with the income necessary to buy these goods and services and maintain good health.

 Research indicates that economic opportunity, especially having a job, is one the most powerful predictors of good health, and that impacts on health are especially pronounced for people in or near poverty.  Employment can also help people avoid trauma and chronic stressors such as violence and insecure housing and food.  These stressors have strong and long-term effects on both mental and physical health, and can even influence the health of one’s children and grandchildren.

 Unemployment and perceived job insecurity are associated with depression, anxiety, and overall poor health.

 Wages are also an important factor in employment, as sufficient income makes it less necessary for people to work long hours and/or multiple jobs, making it more possible to engage with their communities, cook healthy meals, spend time with family and friends, go to medical appointments, and participate in physical activity and other healthy activities.

 Finally, employment makes it more possible to afford to live in places with healthy community conditions like parks, good schools, employment, clean air, and safe streets.

This indicator measures the percentage of people aged 25 to 64 who are employed.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Issue Brief #4: Income, Wealth and Health. 2011. Available at: http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/issue_briefs/2011/rwjf70448.

Marmot M, Bosma H, Hemingway H, Brunner E, Stansfeld S. Contribution of job control and other risk factors to social variations in coronary heart disease incidence. Lancet. 1997; 350: 235-239

Baum A, Garofalo JP, Yali AM. Socioeconomic status and chronic stress. Does stress account for SES effects on health? Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1999;896:131-44.

Matthews KA, Gallo LC, Taylor SE. Are psychosocial factors mediators of socioeconomic status and health connections? A progress report and blueprint for the future. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010;1186:146-73.

Discover Magazine. “Grandma's Experiences Leave a Mark on Your Genes”. June, 2015. Available at: http://discovermagazine.com/2013/may/13-grandmas-experiences-leave-epigenetic-mark-on-your-genes

Burgard SA, Kalousova L, Seefeldt KS. Perceived job insecurity and health: the Michigan recession and recovery study. J Occup Environ Med. 2012;54(9):1101-6.

McKee-Ryan F, Song Z, Wanberg C, Kinicki A. Psychological and physical well-being during unemployment: A meta-analytic study. J Appl Phycol. 2005; 90(1): 53-76.

Salmon J, Owen N, Bauman A, Schmitz MK, Booth M. Leisure-time, occupational, and household physical activity among professional, skilled, and less-skilled workers and homemakers. Prev Med. 2000;30(3):191- 199.

Adkins CL, Premeaux SF. Spending time: The impact of hours worked on work–family conflict. J Vocat Behav. 2012;80(2):380-389.

Health Impact Partners, UCLA Labor Center and Restaurant Opportunities Center- Los Angeles. Health Impact Assessment of the Proposed Los Angeles Wage Theft Ordinance. 2014. Available at: http://www.irle.ucla.edu/publications/documents/wage_theft_report_082514_KF.pdf.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthy Places Website. Available at:http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/about.htm.

Schweinhart, “The High/Scope Perrry Preschool Study Through Age 40: Summary, Conclusions, and Frequently Asked Questions.”

Executive Office of the President of the United States, “The Economics of Early Childhood Investments,” 2014, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/the_economics_of_early_childhood_investments.pdf.

Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative, “Applying Social Determinants of Health Indicator Data for Advancing Healthy Equity,” 2015, https://www.barhii.org/sdoh-indicator-guide.

UC Berkeley Urban Displacement Project, “Gentrification, Displacement and the Role of Public Investment: A Literature Review,” March 3, 2015, http://iurd.berkeley.edu/uploads/Displacement_Lit_Review_Final.pdf.

United States Census. American Community Survey, 2015 One Year Estimates.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Unemployment--Seasonally Adjusted,” November 2017, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.toc.htm.

Increasing employment requires a range of policies designed to develop the workforce, build the economy, and ensure that workers can get to jobs. California is one of the richest states (10th) in the U.S., with a median income of $62,000 a year. Yet it is also one of the states with the highest rates of income inequality (6th), and nearly a million people in the state are unemployed.

 Amidst overall prosperity, many neighborhoods have been left behind, and approximately nine million families and two million children live in poverty in California.

 Stable employment is crucial to ensuring that all Californians have what they need. Local governments wishing to improve employment outcomes should 

 to ensure that people the training, education, and other opportunities they need to access good jobs. They should also 

 to increase the number, quality and accessibility of jobs for local residents. Governments should also seek to 

Improve Transportation Access to Economic Opportunity

Ensure that individuals, families and communities have adequate and sustained economic support during public health and climate emergencies. 

Health

Equity

Sufficient Evidence

Expand Direct Income Support Programs

Best Practice

Access to No-Cost Childcare for Essential Workers

Emerging

Provide Hazard Pay

Provide Support to Small Businesses

Expand Unemployment Benefits Program

Ensure that people have the training and opportunities they need to access good jobs.

Strong Evidence

Early Childhood Education

Health Career Recruitment for Minority Students

High School Education

Job-Focused Basic Skill Training Programs

Industry Driven, Sector-Based Training Programs

Climate

Paid Job Training and Placement Programs for Groups that Face Barriers to Employment

Establish Local Permitting Systems for Street Vending

Foster employment opportunities and help lift whole communities economically.

Worker Cooperative Support Initiatives (Emerging Practice)

Promising

Industrial Land Preservation Strategies 

Community Power and Connection

Small Business Retention Initiatives

Middle-Wage Job Creation Strategies 

Transportation to jobs, schools, and other essential destinations is fundamental to getting and keeping jobs, learning the skills necessary for employment, and accessing economic opportunities.

Policy Guide

Employed

References