Agencies and researchers talk about 2 or 3 kinds of homelessness. Longer than 1 year is chronic.[1] 120,323 of 580,466 homeless people counted were chronically homeless in January 2020.[2]
I don't think the number with jobs is tracked nationally. 10% of unsheltered people in San Diego said they were currently employed or attending school.[3] Another 11% were unemployed under 6 months. In New York City 16% of single adults in shelters had jobs.[4] 28% of families had at least 1 working adult. And people with jobs spend less time in shelters or on the street of course. Maybe none if they can afford a cheap hotel room.
You meet who you meet on the street because people with somewhere else to be are somewhere else.
[1] https://guildservices.org/the-different-types-of-homelessnes...
[2] https://files.hudexchange.info/reports/published/CoC_PopSub_...
[3] https://www.rtfhsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2018-WPoin...
[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/nyregion/in-new-york-havi...
