Many fear that rapid technical change is raising the rate at which workers are displaced from their jobs, as machines take over many tasks once performed by humans (Brynjolfsson and McAfee, 2014). By shifting the locus of production of many goods from advanced economies to emerging and developing ones, globalization also has contributed to worker … Continue reading
Using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), the ofcial source of labor market statistics in the United States, and implementing a regression approach in order to isolate the impact of the pandemic from seasonal and annual patterns, we fnd that weekly labor earnings per adult fell by nearly $100 between February and April, with … Continue reading
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 638,000 in October, and the unemployment rate declined to 6.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. These improvements in the labor market reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. In October, … Continue reading
In this analysis, we find evidence of structural damage in the monthly employment data. Early in the pandemic, most workers who lost jobs were laid off temporarily, as businesses expected to reopen and recall their workers. However, as time has passed, an increasing share of unemployed workers have no expectation of being recalled: the fraction … Continue reading
Some estimates have put the shortage of teachers relative to the number of new vacancies in classrooms across the country that go unfilled at more than 100,000—a crisis exacerbated by the pandemic. But policy changes can go a long way in addressing this shortfall. We lay out those policy solutions in our just-released paper, A… … Continue reading
WASHINGTON — Even before the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting job dislocation unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s, economists and futurists predicted extensive changes to the future of work in the United States. While the focus has been chiefly on the transformations that automation and off-shoring will bring, and a related discussion about the … Continue reading
In the week ending October 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 751,000, a decrease of 40,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 4,000 from 787,000 to 791,000. The 4-week moving average was 787,750, a decrease of 24,500 from the previous week’s revised average. … Continue reading
Labour market fluidity has declined substantially since the late 1990s and coincides with a period of sluggish productivity growth as discussed in Chapter 2. State-level labour market regulation contributes to some of the concerning lack of dynamism, notably occupational licensing and non-competition agreements, which both cover around one fifth of American workers. Labour market regulation … Continue reading
Despite a sharp spike in unemployment since March 2020, aggregate wage growth has accelerated. This acceleration has been almost entirely attributable to job losses among low-wage workers. Wage growth for those who remain employed has been flat. This pattern is not unique to COVID-19 but is more profound now than in previous recessions. This means … Continue reading
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 661,000 in September, and the unemployment rate declined to 7.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. These improvements in the labor market reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. In September, … Continue reading
Nearly 13 million immigrants have a four-year college degree or better. But these highly educated immigrants are not spread evenly throughout the labor market. They make up disproportionate shares of certain jobs, especially in the science and technology fields, accounting for 45 percent of software developers, 42 percent of physical scientists, and 29 percent of … Continue reading
In March and April of 2020, four major federal laws were enacted in response to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Those laws, which contained a wide array of conventional and unconventional fiscal policies, will add $2.3 trillion to the deficit in fiscal year 2020 and $0.6 trillion in 2021, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s estimates. … Continue reading
This panel will focus on changes in unemployment insurance (UI) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and how lessons from these changes can guide reform of the federal-state UI system. For example, what lessons does the CARES Act UI payments experience offer on how we can better promote an equitable recovery? … Continue reading
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending September 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 860,000, a decrease of 33,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 9,000 from 884,000 to 893,000. The 4-week moving average was 912,000, a decrease of 61,000 from the previous … Continue reading
The share of 18- to 29-year-olds living with their parents has become a majority since U.S. coronavirus cases began spreading early this year. The coronavirus outbreak has pushed millions of Americans, especially young adults, to move in with family members. The share of 18- to 29-year-olds living with their parents has become a majority since … Continue reading