Our Mission

To rebuild a more equitable and resilient labor market.

Who We Are
OUR APPROACH


Grantmaking and Partnerships

Led by a cross-sector Leadership Board that is ideologically diverse and representative of often-siloed groups, WorkRise invests in research on policies, programs, and practices that have the potential to accelerate economic security and mobility for low-wage workers. We fund analyses and the creation of data that shed light on labor market barriers, trends, and opportunities. And we engage in strategic partnerships that help advance evidence-based solutions in support of our mission. Learn more about our most recent request for proposals and how you can collaborate with WorkRise.

Working Knowledge

The Latest

Federal policy October 12, 2021

Lessons from Unemployment Benefit Expansions during the COVID-19 and Great Recessions

Last week’s jobs report reopens questions about the effects of pandemic-era unemployment insurance (UI) programs while they were in place, the way they were allowed to lapse, and considerations for their reintroduction.

William J. Congdon, Archana Pyati , Joseph Peck

Employer practices October 06, 2021

Skills, Degrees, and Persistent Inequality: The Opportunity Gap between STARs and Workers with 4-Year Degrees

Workers without four-year degrees, many of whom have significant job experience and are skilled through alternative routes, face a systemic opportunity gap in the labor market.

Justin Heck

Skills and training September 02, 2021

Building Evidence on Occupational Identity Could Lead to New Approaches for Improving Labor Market Outcomes for Young People

Understanding how young adults form and mediate occupational identity could inform strategies to improve labor market outcomes.

Maalik Nickerson

Worker voice, representation, and power August 16, 2021

Improving Work for Independent Contractors through Worker Voice and Power

The challenges independent workers face have become more visible during the pandemic and has increased calls for better workplace protections and conditions.

Jacqueline Rayfield, Batia Katz, Jessica Shakesprere

Research

Employer practices July 01, 2021

Skills, Degrees, and Labor Market Inequality

In a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, researchers demonstrate that workers with college degrees have dramatically better access to higher-wage occupations where the skill requirements exceed the workers’ observed skill compared to workers without degrees.

Peter Q. Blair, Papia Debroy, Justin Heck

Wages and employer-provided benefits October 07, 2020

The Challenge of Slow Wage Growth

Because of sluggish wage growth, middle- and low-wage workers in the United States are today doing little better in real terms than similarly situated workers 40 years ago, exacerbating economic burdens experienced by workers during the current COVID-19 crisis. This brief examines the evidence on wage growth for the typical worker over several decades and concludes that efforts to rebuild the U.S. labor market must include policies to accelerate wage growth.

William J. Congdon

Demographic disparities September 28, 2020

Racial Inequality in the Labor Market and Employment Opportunities

This brief explores the persistent inequities and disparities in outcomes experienced by people of color in the U.S. labor market through key data points, delves into root causes based on a review of the evidence, and identifies key gaps in our knowledge of why and how labor market inequality endures.

K. Steven Brown

Economic context September 16, 2020

Five Lessons from Last Decade's Employment Recovery

The employment recovery from the Great Recession offers five key lessons for policymakers, employers, and other decisionmakers as they face the employment crisis created by Covid-19.

Donald Marron