Table 2.
Sample characteristics of the unemployed household heads by food insecurity status, Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), 2008–2010
| Mean, sd or percentage | ||
|---|---|---|
| Variable | Food insecure | Food secure |
| Demographic characteristics | ||
| Age (years) | ||
| Mean | 38·3 | 40·7 |
| sd | 12·0 | 12·4 |
| Male (%) | 43·0 | 48·4 |
| Race (%) | ||
| Non-Hispanic White | 52·4 | 67·8 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 16·6 | 13·1 |
| Hispanic | 23·3 | 12·9 |
| Others | 7·8 | 6·3 |
| Education (%) | ||
| High school or below | 45·9 | 27·7 |
| Some college | 40·7 | 39·9 |
| Bachelor or above | 13·5 | 32·4 |
| Married (%) | 36·0 | 52·1 |
| Citizens (%) | 88·3 | 92·1 |
| Household type (%) | ||
| Couple-headed | 35·6 | 50·3 |
| Male-headed | 26·4 | 22·3 |
| Female-headed | 37·9 | 27·3 |
| Household size | ||
| Mean | 2·7 | 2·6 |
| sd | 1·5 | 1·4 |
| Number of children | ||
| Mean | 1·0 | 0·8 |
| sd | 1·3 | 1·2 |
| Home owners (%) | 36·4 | 59·7 |
| Residence: metro (%) | 83·4 | 81·2 |
| Monthly income ($US) | ||
| Mean | 3568·1 | 5840·3 |
| sd | 3613·2 | 5565·4 |
| Income-to-needs ratio (%) | ||
| Below 2 | 54·5 | 30·4 |
| 2 to 4 | 29·3 | 28·8 |
| Above 4 | 16·2 | 40·1 |
| Liquid assets* ($US) | ||
| Mean | 702·3 | 71 426·0 |
| sd | 71 304·7 | 206 192·9 |
| Assets-to-needs ratio: below 3 (%) | 81·2 | 44·1 |
| Recipient of SNAP† (%) | 32·3 | 14·1 |
| Access to social support† (%) | ||
| Mean | 4·4 | 5·4 |
| sd | 2·3 | 2·5 |
SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
If not mentioned otherwise, all variables were collected in Wave 1.
*
Variables were collected in Wave 4.
†
Variables were collected in Wave 6 for sample 1 and in Wave 9 for sample 2.