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

Stakeholder voices April 05, 2021

What Happens When You Raise the Minimum Wage? A Q&A with Arin Dube

A leading expert on the minimum wage and WorkRise board member reflects on the effects of minimum wage hikes across the country.

Elisabeth Jacobs

Employer practices March 24, 2021

A Research Agenda on Good Jobs and Economic Mobility

A new agenda focuses on developing additional measures of job quality elements, building data infrastructure, and analyzing trade-offs workers make in choosing jobs.

Pamela J. Loprest , Demetra Nightingale, William J. Congdon, Molly M. Scott , Batia Katz, Jessica Shakesprere

Employer practices March 24, 2021

What Do Workers Value in a Job?

In a survey on 10 major job quality elements, women, Black, and Latinx workers were more likely than men or white workers to value all 10 as "extremely important."

Batia Katz, Molly M. Scott , Pamela J. Loprest

Skills and training March 18, 2021

Four Reasons Why Public Sector Apprenticeships Can Help Catalyze an Economic Recovery

Public sector apprenticeships could help rebuild the public sector workforce and create pathways for young people entering the job market.

Diana Elliott, Andrew Campbell, John Marotta

Research

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