QUESTION = Why do lower-income folk work multiple jobs to support themselves rather than work more hours at a single job?

GENERATION = To try to answer your question, the reason is almost always based on the idea that if they work more, they can make more. There are many people with entry-level jobs who make much more than minimum wage earners, and many people with a middle-class job who make much more than minimum wage earners. In many cases, this can go back centuries. The effect on lower income households is that their income is less stable, meaning they are more likely to lose their job, or have to compromise. If you work for a company, and make $10,000/year, it is much easier to lose a job than it is to gain one. So if you were able to save enough money for a home, you might find yourself looking for a new job in the future. If you don't have a job, it is even more difficult to get a steady income. The same is true of people who work in retail, especially in high-end retail industries. People making $20,000/year could spend as much as $100,000/year on their home. It is much easier to work, save money for a home, and make more money. 

RETRIEVAL #0 = Labor mobility---place, it is usually costly and inconvenient for workers to move from one locality to another, and they may lose working time in making any change of jobs. Therefore, an employer in a locality may enjoy what has been called a “spatial monopoly.” This would be especially the case in an isolated company town. The recent trend toward decentralization in such industries as hosiery, rubber, autos, and auto accessories tends, of course, to increase the spatial monopoly of such employers in the purchase of labor. Secondly, especially before the internet, workers were frequently ignorant of their opportunities in other markets, and a job is such a complex of factors that it may be difficult for the worker to determine whether he would really be better off if he were working for another firm in another area. He has to consider noneconomic as well as economic factors and to consider the long-run as well as the immediate prospect. Thirdly, there are many restrictions on shopping around in other labor markets. The worker sells his services, which require his presence on one buyer's premises during working hours when the process of hiring normally occurs. Therefore, a worker may be unable to look elsewhere for work without quitting his present job. Furthermore, he is usually unable to acquaint other buyers with the real quality of his wares (services), for the present buyer is 

RETRIEVAL #1 = Arlie Russell Hochschild---is a "leisure gap" between them at home. Most women work one shift at the office or factory and a "second shift" at home."" ""The more anxious, isolated and time-deprived we are, the more likely we are to turn to paid personal services. To finance these extra services, we work longer hours. This leaves less time to spend with family, friends and neighbors; we become less likely to call on them for help, and they on us."" ""For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. The things that we long to experience at home- pride in our accomplishments, laughter and fun, relationships that aren't complex- we sometimes experience most often in the office. Bosses applaud us when we do a good job. Co-workers become a kind of family we feel we fit into."" ""The deal we made with the workplace wasn't made with families in mind: to work year-round in eight hour workdays through thick and thin, newborns, normal childhood illnesses, difficulties at school, elderly people getting sick. In whose interest is this? And can't we change it, making of two nine-hour days three six hour days, creating an extra job and making life livable for everyone?"" Section::::Legacy. Within sociology, Hochschild is 

RETRIEVAL #2 = Dual-career commuter couples---Dual-career commuter couples Commuter couples are a subset of dual-career couples who live apart in separate residences while both partners pursue careers. Gilbert and Rachlin address the difference between dual-earner families and dual-career families, distinguishing that dual-earner couples are those in which both spouses are earning for the family, but one or both of them consider their occupational involvement as a job. Jobs are unlike careers in that they do not require extensive training or commitment. In dual-earner couples, one spouse's work is generally considered secondary. Dual-career couples are families in which "both heads of household pursue careers and at the same time maintain a family life together". Both have high degrees of commitment to their careers, and neither partner's career is thought to be more important than that of the other. Section::::Historical background. Section::::Historical background.:Statistics. In the United States, statistics from as early as 1989 report that 53% of married households were dual-earner couples. By 1996, the percent of dual-earner couples grew to 61%. According to data from 1989, approximately 7 million employees (15% to 20% of all dual-earner marriages) were classified as dual-career couples. By 2003, U.S. workers take more 

RETRIEVAL #3 = Dual-career commuter couples---background.:Formation of commuter couples. The increase in women's career opportunities also increases the problems of couples pursuing two careers in the same place, and can cause conflict regarding which spouse's career should take precedence. One major concern for dual-career couples is finding employment in the same geographic location. One partner usually compromises by taking a less desirable job so that the other can take a position that might further his or her career. However, if this compromise cannot be reached, the option of commuting can be the result, where both spouses enjoy highly desirable jobs at the sacrifice of maintaining separate residences. In the definition of dual-career commuter couples, the work pursued by each member of the couple requires 1) a high degree of commitment and special training with increasing degrees of responsibility (this includes students pursuing an advanced educational degree) and 2) that the couple maintain homes in separate geographic locations. Traveling sales or business workers, military personnel, migrant workers, and construction and trade workers who leave home for various lengths of time are not included in the definition. When couples share a home and one or both members commute long distances to work each day or couples immigrating at separate times, they are also not included in this definition. The dyad of commuter couples is typically composed of the "commuter", who moves to a secondary residence for work, 

RETRIEVAL #4 = Spillover-crossover model---household tasks), as a result of the negative behaviors of the employee. In the end, the partner experienced higher levels of exhaustion. Section::::Practical implications. One of the most important implications of the SCM is that employers should not only focus on interventions that mitigate family demands that conflict with work roles (e.g., child care programs, alternative work schedules), but also on practices that impact working conditions (i.e. job demands and resources) and how they influence family life (). 

RETRIEVAL #5 = Alternative minimum tax---such households). That was set to change in only a few years, however, if the AMT had remained unindexed. The median household income in the United States was $44,389 in 2005, and households making over $75,000 per year made up the top quartile of household incomes. Because those are the households generally required to compute the AMT (though only a fraction currently have to pay), some argue that the AMT still hits only the wealthy or the upper middle class. However, some counties, such as Fairfax County, Virginia ($102,460), and some cities, such as San Jose, California ($76,354), have local median incomes that are considerably higher than the national median, and approach or exceed the typical AMT threshold. The cost-of-living index is generally higher in such areas, which leads to families who are "middle class" in that area having to pay the AMT, while in poorer locales with lower costs of living, only the "locally wealthy" pay the AMT. In other words, many who pay the AMT have incomes that would place them among the wealthy when considering the United States as a whole, but who think of themselves as "middle class" because of the cost of living in their locale. As early as the first Tax Reform study in 1984, arguments were made for eliminating the deduction for state and 

RETRIEVAL #6 = One-stop career centers---of Labor BULLET::::- Website for Career One Stop