How Changes to the Thrifty Food Plan Have Affected Labor Force Participation
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In response to a request from House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, CBO assesses the effect of an increase in the value of the Thrifty Food Plan on labor force participation.

Summary

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington asked CBO to indicate whether the 2021 increase in the value of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which increased Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, had a positive or negative impact on labor force participation. In CBO’s assessment, the TFP increase likely reduced the fraction of people participating in the labor force as a response to the higher transfer income that people received when not working. The reduction in labor supply is likely concentrated among the minority of SNAP recipients who are of working age. The agency has not quantified the size of that effect.