Employment clusters in five occupational groups
GAO’s analysis of 2024 Current Population Survey data found 54.0% of wage-earning adults in SNAP households worked in five occupational groups, compared with 33.3% of wage earners outside SNAP. For Medicaid, the corresponding shares were 52.6% and 32.9%.
Those gaps are 20.7 and 19.7 percentage points. The five groups are food preparation and serving, healthcare support, sales, transportation and material moving, and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance.
| Group | Program recipients | Nonrecipients | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| SNAP households | 54.0% | 33.3% | 20.7 points |
| Medicaid | 52.6% | 32.9% | 19.7 points |
The sharpest individual differences
Food preparation employed 10.9% of SNAP wage earners versus 4.6% of nonrecipients, a 2.37-to-one ratio. Healthcare support employed 8.6% versus 3.3%, a 2.61-to-one ratio. Medicaid ratios were similarly large: 2.55 for food preparation and 2.87 for healthcare support.
Occupation is not a measure of effort or eligibility abuse. The pattern points to wage levels, hours and benefit access in sectors that keep millions of workers connected to safety-net programs.
Hours and weeks widen the divide
Among wage earners, 66.1% of Medicaid recipients worked at least 35 hours a week, versus 87.0% of nonrecipients. For SNAP households, the figures were 71.3% and 86.1%. Working 50 to 52 weeks showed 29.0- and 24.6-point gaps, respectively.
GAO estimates 13.8 million wage-earning adults had Medicaid and 10.6 million SNAP households included a wage earner; 88% worked in the private sector. These are survey estimates with confidence intervals, not administrative headcounts.
Method and limitations
What’s the Scoop With Broach grouped GAO’s five named occupations and calculated percentage-point gaps and ratios. CPS respondents underreport benefit receipt, and the tables do not prove that occupation caused enrollment. The contribution is a concentration analysis, not a forecast of how policy changes would affect individuals.