Overview
States and localities shape workers’ economic mobility and security through a number of channels. State and local agencies work with employers and workforce training providers to create economic opportunities for workers and help match people’s skills with employer needs. States and localities can also shape workers’ opportunity for upward mobility by enacting their own laws on minimum wage, occupational licensing, collective bargaining, paid leave, and programs such as universal prekindergarten.
Working Knowledge
Job search and matching
April 08, 2022
Blog Article
How “Netflix for Jobs” Is Unlocking Economic Mobility: A Q&A with Scott Jensen
Chief executive officer and vice president of external affairs for Research Improving People's Lives shares insights on how data, science, and technology can identify promising employment and training opportunities for jobseekers looking to earn more or gain new skills.
April 08, 2022
Federal policy
October 12, 2021
Blog Article
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.
October 12, 2021
Research
State and local policy
March 15, 2023
How Past Criminal Convictions Bar Floridians from Occupational Licensing Opportunities
In this report, the Florida Policy Institute and the DeVoe L. Moore Center at Florida State University highlight research exploring the relationship between occupational licensing and recidivism and the consequences of overregulation on workforce development. The authors also survey the landscape of Florida’s occupational licensing laws and policy reform efforts and present policy proposals to reduce professional licensing barriers for people with criminal records.
March 15, 2023
Supportive services
March 15, 2022
Expanding Child Care Subsidies to Parents in Education and Training
A fact sheet summarizes findings from a new WorkRise report that models a hypothetical policy scenario where more parents in education and training were eligible for and received public child care subsidies.
March 15, 2022
Supportive services
March 15, 2022
Implications of Providing Child Care Assistance to Parents In Education and Training
New WorkRise research uses microsimulation to model a hypothetical policy scenario where more parents in education and training were eligible for and received public child care subsidies.
March 15, 2022
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.
October 07, 2020