Employment and the Creation of an Active Citizenry

This study examines the link between employment and political participation, using US household survey data. It finds that being employed increases an individual's political activities by more than one‐third, primarily through increased income, civic skills, political efficacy and recruitment at work. Union membership and skill‐building tasks are strong positive predictors of political participation. In exploring issue‐oriented activism, disability activism is found to be lower among employed people with disabilities, but higher among those who report job discrimination. The likely effects of declining unionization, changes in job structures and other workplace and employment trends on overall political participation are discussed.