About six-in-ten adults today have a favorable view of labor unions (60%) and business corporations (56%), according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Views of both have grown more positive since March 2015, when roughly half of adults (48%) expressed a favorable view of each. Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story … Continue reading
What Are CBO’s Current Projections of Labor Force Participation? CBO projects that the rate of labor force participation (that is, the number of people who are either working or seeking work as a share of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 or older) will decline from 62.8 percent in 2017 to 61.0 percent in 2027 and … Continue reading
The United States has long attracted some of the world’s best and brightest, drawn by the strong U.S. economy, renowned universities, and reputation for entrepreneurship and innovation. But because of language, credential-recognition, and other barriers many of these highly skilled, college-educated immigrants cannot fully contribute their academic and professional training and skills once in the … Continue reading
About 157,000 U.S. workers quit a manufacturing job in October, the highest level in more than eight years and a reminder of the massive churn across the labor market. Falling factory employment has been running theme of 2016, and President-elect Donald Trump has made those jobs a priority. Underneath the long-term slide in employment is a more dynamic … Continue reading
Beginning in 2007, there were two major developments in the U.S. economy. The federal minimum wage rose in steps from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour, and overall employment growth slowed significantly as the country began its descent into the Great Recession. A recent paper by Jeffrey Clemens and Michael Wither argues that the national minimum … Continue reading
An ongoing structural shift toward more intensive use of part-time employment by many employers is driving the elevated rate of involuntary part-time work. Over six years into an economic recovery, the share of people working part time because they can only get part-time hours remains at recessionary levels. The number working part time involuntarily remains … Continue reading
The unemployment rate declined to 4.6 percent in November, and total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 178,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment gains occurred in professional and business services and in health care. Household Survey Data In November, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 percentage point to 4.6 percent, and the … Continue reading
This paper examines four different youth work-based learning strategies, each targeting different youth populations and industry sectors, and identifies key elements of these programs’ success, challenges each has needed to address, and policy recommendations to address these challenges. Why work-based learning Well-designed work-based learning opportunities provide youth participants with occupational and work readiness training while … Continue reading
The data, from the 2015 American Community Survey, continue to show that the more you learn, the more you earn. In 2015, median earnings for adult workers without a high school diploma were approximately $21,000 compared with $67,000 for those with a graduate degree. Workers with “some college” or an associate’s degree—the most common level … Continue reading
With the U.S. economy on the upswing, voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington are set to vote on increases to those states’ minimum wages by as much as 60 percent over the next few years, adding to nationwide momentum that has lifted wages for low-income workers significantly. Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read … Continue reading
James L. Brown tried to hire a dozen workers for his metal foundry here. Half of them flunked the drug test. Those results are typical, says the president of Bremen Castings Inc, a family-owned employer of 350 workers who make parts for trucks and other equipment. Drug problems are one factor contributing to a labor … Continue reading
Over recent years, the partial or complete transfer of VET systems has become in- creasingly relevant in international and comparative vocational education and training research (Barabasch and Wolf, 2011; Phillips and Ochs, 2004). This issue also has an increasingly important international training policy aspect. In the context of high youth unemployment in some industrialised countries … Continue reading
Attainment of a four-year college degree in the United States, often regarded as a key asset for economic success, varies by race and gender. But the share of people completing a college education also differs by religion, with members of some faith groups much more educated, on average, than others. By far, Hindus and Unitarian Universalists … Continue reading
Our research indicates that the current approach to higher education financing too often leaves low-income students facing unexpected, and sometimes untenable, expenses… Financial challenges are a consistent predictor of non-completion in higher education, and they are becoming more severe over time. Unexpected costs, even those that might appear modest in size, can derail students from … Continue reading
The U.S. economy is inching along, productivity is flagging and millions of Americans appear locked out of the labor market. One key factor intertwined with this loss of dynamism: The U.S. is creating startup businesses at historically low rates. The American economy has long relied on fast-growing young companies to fuel job growth and spread … Continue reading