Policies and trends around employment impact over 160 million working Americans and their families. Our posts discuss a range of topics including: demographic trends in labor force participation; unemployment; the impact of immigration; minimum wage laws; discrimination; how trade policy affects U.S. jobs; the rise of automation; and employment-focused education and skills programs, among others.
December 12, 2020
Graduating college in a downturn can have lasting career impacts. Worsening trends for new graduates raise concerns for those graduating in the COVID recession.
December 2, 2020
Unemployment insurance is the most important support for displaced workers. However, benefits quickly decline over time and are more generous for higher income workers.
October 21, 2020
Layoffs increase the risk of divorce for married workers. Unemployment insurance can mitigate some of the increased risk, especially for men without children.
October 1, 2020
The combination of job losses that were markedly worse for low-earning workers and the expansion of unemployment benefits made the CARES Act very progressive.
August 27, 2020
The Covid-19 recession has led to a sharp decline in women’s employment contrasting with previous recessions that saw a larger rise in unemployment for men.
August 11, 2020
The CARES Act added a $600 federal benefit that increased the generosity of state unemployment insurance. But many factors impact the intensity with which the unemployed seek work.
June 1, 2020
Employment declines from COVID-19 overshadow the Great Recession. Hispanics, younger workers and workers without a college degree saw the largest declines.
April 24, 2020
The labor market collapsed at the same time across the U.S. irrespective of the early spread of the virus or the timing of state-level policies imposed.
November 3, 2019
Unions can impact the wages of non-union workers, the productivity of firms, and the distribution of income. Declining unionization contributes to inequality.