Wage Garnishment in the United States: New Facts from Administrative Payroll Records / Anthony A. DeFusco, Brandon M. Enriquez, Margaret B. Yellen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

DeFusco, Anthony A.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Enriquez, Brandon M.

Yellen, Margaret B.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w30724.

NBER working paper series no. w30724

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2022.

Summary:

Wage garnishment allows creditors to deduct money directly from workers' paychecks to re-pay defaulted debts. We document new facts about wage garnishment between 2014-2019 using data from a large payroll processor who distributes paychecks to approximately 20%of U.S. private-sector workers. As of 2019, over one in every 100 workers was being garnished for delinquent debt. The average garnished worker experiences garnishment for five months, during which approximately 11% of gross earnings is remitted to their creditor(s). The beginning of a new garnishment is associated with an increase in job turnover rates but no intensive margin change in hours worked.

Notes:

Print version record

December 2022.