Search Results
Discussion Paper
Who Has COVID-19 Impacted and What’s Been Done to Help?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the unemployment rate monthly. Generally, it gives an idea of the number of Americans who are out of work and looking for new employment. During times of economic stress, however, this metric may not paint a full picture of those who are out of work.Headline unemployment numbers can be misleading, and the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the accuracy of the picture painted by the headline unemployment numbers. For instance, the October jobs report from the BLS identified 11.1 million unemployed workers, or 6.9 percent unemployment. But this ...
Discussion Paper
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and Wage Replacement Rates
When coronavirus swept through the country in early March, the United States saw a public health crisis like no other in living memory. Shelter-in-place orders that were implemented to keep communities safe from coronavirus had another impact, a halt in most economic activity. Consumer spending dropped 6.9 percent in March year-over-year, falling to a 13.6 percent year-over-year decline in April. Personal income was down 2.2 percent in March, but, due to government programs such as increased unemployment insurance and the stimulus checks, up 10.5 percent in April, despite a record number of ...
Discussion Paper
Skills-based Approaches for Finding Talent and Diversifying the Workforce: Six Lessons from Employers
Securing the right talent is crucial for every employer. Especially challenging in a tight labor market, it is a perennial issue for certain industries, occupations, and geographies. At the same time, persistent employment outcome disparities exist. The labor mismatch—where current job seekers’ credentials, or lack thereof, do not match employer job requirements—has prompted a widening trend in which employers have shifted from prioritizing degrees in favor of evaluating potential workers based on their transferable skills.The adoption of skills-based practices offers a practical ...
Discussion Paper
Talent Finance: Exploring the Future of Workforce Partnerships
In 2020, our economy competes on talent. The labor market is dynamic, with in-demand skills constantly changing. A dynamic economy can create opportunities for workers, but it also creates risk. Investing in talent development—or talent finance—is imperative for companies and workers to succeed, but with the evolving nature of our global economy, our old systems of talent finance do not always work. Talent finance refers to the development and use of public and private instruments for investing in talent development and in managing related downside employment and income risks.As early as ...
Discussion Paper
The Importance of Addressing Long-Term Unemployment for Economic Recovery
In April 2020, the U.S. unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.8 percent from a low of 3.5 percent because of stay-at-home orders and fears over the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the initial lockdown in April and May 2020, the unemployment rate declined rapidly, reaching 5.9 percent in June 2021. Nonetheless, many workers, a large fraction of whom have been out of work for a long time, face challenges.According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), fewer workers had been laid off or fired in June 2021 than in the previous month, and 850,000 new jobs had been added. However, the number of ...
Discussion Paper
Partnerships between Community Development Financial Institutions and Workforce Development Organizations
Inability to secure capital to improve worker skills or expand training programs can prevent growth in a local economy. This paper presents the role CDFIs can play to fill a need for financing in the workforce development sector. While the transactions presented in this paper are unique, they highlight the importance of partnerships between the two industries. Shared missions and an overlapping client base between CDFIs and workforce development practitioners creates a natural pairing for collaboration. In addition, CDFIs are uniquely able to serve as test beds for innovation because of their ...
Discussion Paper
Emerging Themes from Workforce Development Month 2021
Workforce Development Month, celebrated each September, focuses on what workers need to be successful in an evolving economy. Lawmakers, researchers, and practitioners acknowledge National Workforce Development Month to help uplift challenges within the industry. Many Americans face barriers in securing and maintaining quality employment, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these challenges. In August 2021, the national unemployment rate remained elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels. The number of workers who are long-term unemployed (unemployed for 27 weeks or more) has nearly ...
Discussion Paper
Challenges in Today's Unemployment Insurance System
After a year of crippling economic impacts due to the coronavirus pandemic, at least 16 million workers remain unemployed. The national unemployment rate for February 2021 was 6.2 percent; in February 2020, it stood at 3.5 percent.* Many unemployed workers have struggled to make ends meet over the past year. Since March 2020, the unemployment insurance system was changed to help workers make ends meet during the pandemic. These measures created challenges for state unemployment insurance administrators and have often fallen short of the program's goals.