Investments for workforce development require a foundation of institutional supports that will ensure accountability. This panel, representing diverse perspectives from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, will explore the institutions, policies and norms needed to establish, reinforce and facilitate new and increased investments. via Investing In America’s Workforce 2017 – YouTube
There is substantial interest in measuring not just the quantity of new jobs but the quality as well. Existing surveys by the Bureau of Labor Statistics describe the number of new jobs created each month, as well as wages of incumbent workers, but not wages (or other characteristics) of newly created jobs. This paper aims … Continue reading
Across the United States, millions of men and women with limited reading, math, or digital problem-solving skills are holding down jobs across the service sector. Employed in retail shops and restaurants, hotels and hospitals, these workers not only help fuel the country’s economy — they keep daily life in America humming smoothly along. In the … Continue reading
The unemployment rate declined to 4.2 percent in September, and total nonfarm payroll employment changed little (-33,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. A sharp employment decline in food services and drinking places and below-trend growth in some other industries likely reflected the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. Chosen excerpts by Job … Continue reading
The labor force participation rate in the U.S. has declined since 2007 primarily because of population aging and ongoing trends that preceded the Great Recession. The participation rate has evolved differently, and for different reasons, across demographic groups. A rise in school enrollment has largely offset declining participation for young workers since the 1990s. The … Continue reading
While a comprehensive explanation of labor force nonparticipation is outside the scope of this paper, we can gain some insight from self-reported reasons for being out of the labor force.2 In figure 3, we describe the reasons that prime-age men and women give for their nonparticipation. (The percentage in each category is out of the … Continue reading
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 156,000 in August, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in manufacturing, construction, professional and technical services, health care, and mining. Household Survey Data In August, the unemployment rate, at 4.4 percent, and the number … Continue reading
As Labor Day approaches, we honor the labor leaders and working people throughout history who have fought for labor protections and a voice on the job. In 2017, unions continue to fight for labor standards and higher wages in traditionally unionized sectors, like manufacturing, along with new industries, like digital journalism. Today’s unions are diverse. … Continue reading
Immigrants from India first arrived in the United States in small numbers during the early 19th century, primarily as low-skilled farm laborers. In recent decades the population has grown substantially, with 2.4 million Indian immigrants resident in the United States as of 2015. This makes the foreign born from India the second-largest immigrant group after … Continue reading
Workforce development financing has changed significantly over the last 25 years. In 2008, federal funding for the traditional workforce development system was 83 percent lower in real terms than it had been in 1980. As the federal system plays a smaller role in workforce development financing, the job training landscape better represents a “marketplace” where … Continue reading
MILLIONS OF AMERICANS have attended college, accruing significant amounts of college credit, without ever receiving a college credential that appropriately recognizes their learning and effort. In 2015, there were more than 35 million such Americans aged 25 years and older, a group widely recognized as having “some college, no degree.” Millions of Americans enter higher … Continue reading
In this analysis, we explore the following questions about the approximately 24 million men and women of prime working age who were not in the labor force in 2016. Key findings are: Women with a high school education or less are overwhelmingly the largest group of Americans out of the labor force. After excluding caregivers … Continue reading
With [July] employment report, we can report that the national jobs gap relative to November 2007 has closed (see figure 1). This indicates that, by our calculations, nearly a full decade after the start of the recession, employment has returned to its demographically adjusted pre-recession level. This does not mean that all harm to the … Continue reading
To monitor trends in alternative work arrangements, we conducted a version of the Contingent Worker Survey as part of the RAND American Life Panel (ALP) in late 2015. The findings point to a significant rise in the incidence of alternative work arrangements in the U.S. economy from 2005 to 2015. The percentage of workers engaged … Continue reading
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 209,000 in July, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in food services and drinking places, professional and business services, and health care. Household Survey Data Both the unemployment rate, at 4.3 percent, and the number … Continue reading