October 30, 2024
New research from the Project on Workforce and the National Governors Association highlights how governors are leveraging new industrial policy opportunities to strengthen workforce development and meet labor market needs. As the federal government allocates trillions of dollars toward new industrial policies, states face a significant challenge: they will only succeed in realizing the economic…
October 30, 2024
The 2024 American Opportunity Index measures how well America’s largest companies drive economic mobility and positive career outcomes for their employees—actions that also can help fuel business performance. It is based on independent data and is the only measure of employer quality to evaluate what really happens to workers at America’s largest employers over time….
October 23, 2024
Employment plays a crucial role in helping families escape poverty and move up the income ladder. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, created through welfare reform in 1996, showed that linking government assistance to work could increase employment and decrease poverty among single-mother families. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps,…
October 16, 2024
Key Points Read the full pdf. Introduction America is becoming worse at connecting workers with jobs—in part because it is unnecessarily difficult to offer and access education and training that could prepare students for a career. Two decades ago, there were just over three million open jobs, and it took, on average, fewer than 20…
October 3, 2024
Abstract The Trump–Pence and Biden–Harris administrations enthusiastically embraced protectionism. Each administration explicitly argued for a break from the bipartisan consensus of recent decades that has been generally supportive of free trade and of allowing markets to shape US industrial and employment composition. But the protectionism of the Trump and Biden administrations has not succeeded and…
October 2, 2024
Despite misperceptions that the United States is limping through late-stage capitalism, American workers are more highly compensated than ever before—even the lowest earners. The 20th percentile earner—worse-off than 80 percent of workers—had annual earnings 19 percent higher in 2022 than in 1979, after accounting for inflation and a decline in women choosing to work only…
October 2, 2024
Executive Summary and Introduction: For generations, society has told high school students that college is a great investment. The case is familiar: college graduates typically earn more money than their peers without degrees, and a college education is necessary for the 21st century labor market. For low-income students especially, college has been sold as a…
October 1, 2024
The family is the fundamental unit of society. As Pope Saint John Paul II so eloquently stated, “as the family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the whole world in which we live.” Unfortunately, rates of marriage and family formation have hit record lows across the nation in recent years. This report focuses…
September 25, 2024
Key Points Read the PDF. Executive Summary At one time, American social and civic life was characterized by robust networks of social connections and activities. But in the years following the pandemic, which curtailed social opportunities and community activities, there are few signs of recovery. The American Social Capital Survey reveals that American civic life…