Работники grocery-сетей массово зависят от Medicaid и SNAP, несмотря на полную занятость

Grocery workers rely heavily on Medicaid, SNAP: report And many put in full-time hours; trend is prevalent in all grocery formats August 13, 2026 Grocery workers remain heavily reliant on Medicaid and federal food assistance even when they are employed by some of the nation’s largest retailers, according to a new government analysis. The U.S. Government Accountability Office found millions of working-age Americans who earned wages in 2024 were enrolled in Medicaid or lived in households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. An estimated 13.8 million wage-earning adults were enrolled in Medicaid and 10.6 million lived in households receiving SNAP benefits. The findings put grocery and convenience retail among the industries with some of the highest concentrations of workers receiving government assistance. About 15.5% of wage-earning adult Medicaid enrollees worked in wholesale and retail trade in 2024, compared with 12.1% of workers who were not enrolled in Medicaid. The industry accounted for 16.8% of working adults receiving SNAP benefits, compared with 12.1% of workers who did not receive the benefit. State-level data showed an even stronger connection between grocery employment and the safety net. Among workers employed by larger private-sector employers with at least 50 Medicaid enrollees, grocery and convenience retailers accounted for an estimated 20% of working adult Medicaid enrollees in Maine and Rhode Island. The percentage was 11% in Indiana, 10% in Georgia and Massachusetts and 7% in Oklahoma. The pattern was similar for SNAP. Grocery and convenience retailers accounted for 27% of working adult SNAP recipients employed by larger private-sector employers in Maine, the highest percentage among the eight states for which GAO reported the industry data. Grocery and convenience retailers accounted for 18% in Arkansas, 15% in North Carolina, 14% in Indiana and Nebraska, 12% in Georgia and 11% in Massachusetts and Tennessee. The report also identified individual grocery retailers among the largest employers of workers enrolled in Medicaid or receiving SNAP. Walmart was particularly prominent. In Georgia, Walmart employed an estimated 4,595 nondisabled, nonelderly working adults enrolled in Medicaid in September 2025, or 4.8% of the state’s working adult Medicaid enrollees employed by an employer. Dollar General employed an estimated 1,763, Publix employed 1,357 and Kroger employed 1,126. Walmart was also the largest employer of working adult Medicaid enrollees in Oklahoma, with an estimated 4,684 workers. Dolgencorp, which operates Dollar General stores, ranked third with an estimated 2,232, while Dollar Tree employed an estimated 856.In Massachusetts, several traditional supermarket operators appeared near the top of the list. Stop & Shop ranked fourth with an estimated 1,333 working adult Medicaid enrollees, followed by Demoulas Super Markets, operator of Market Basket, with 980. Shaw’s ranked eighth with an estimated 845 workers. Walmart ranked third with 1,535. The numbers also show the issue extends across grocery formats, including supermarkets, supercenters, dollar stores, convenience stores and warehouse clubs. In Indiana, Walmart was the second-largest employer of working adult SNAP recipients, with an estimated 978 workers receiving the benefit. Dollar General ranked fifth with 488, Kroger seventh with 368, Dollar Tree eighth with 353 and Meijer 12th with 227. Washington state data showed a similar mix of retailers. Walmart employed 1,328 working adult SNAP recipients, followed among food retailers by Safeway with 775, Fred Meyer with 612, Albertsons with 499, WinCo Foods with 257 and Costco with 256. Dollar Tree had 641 workers receiving SNAP. The GAO findings also challenge the notion that participation in Medicaid and SNAP is primarily tied to part-time employment. About two-thirds of wage-earning adult Medicaid enrollees worked at least 35 hours a week during 2024, while 71.3% of working adult SNAP recipients worked at least 35 hours. Nearly 48% of Medicaid-enrolled wage earners worked 50 to 52 weeks during the year, as did 51.3% of SNAP recipients. Most were also employed in the private sector. About 87.7% of wage-earning adult Medicaid enrollees and 87.3% of working adult SNAP recipients worked for private employers in 2024. More than one-third worked for large employers. GAO estimated 35.2% of wage-earning adult Medicaid enrollees worked for employers with at least 1,000 employees. Among SNAP recipients, the figure was 41.5%. GAO’s findings are based on two sets of data. National estimates were drawn from the Census Bureau’s March 2025 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement and cover program participation during 2024. Employer-specific findings came from agencies in 11 states and generally reflect September 2025. The agency cautioned that the state employer data should not be treated as a national ranking. The results are generalizable only to the states providing the data, and larger employers are inherently more likely to appear among the top employers of workers receiving benefits because they employ more people overall. The report nevertheless underscores the role grocery retailers play in employing workers who continue to depend on government assistance for health care and food. Across the broader economy, GAO found that the workers receiving Medicaid and SNAP were disproportionately concentrated in a relatively small number of industries and occupations. Wholesale and retail trade was among five industries that together employed about 71% of wage-earning adults enrolled in Medicaid or receiving SNAP in 2024.