Is the U.S. Stuck with a Fixed Add-On for Unemployment?
When COVID-19 led to millions of Americans losing their jobs, Congress moved to increase unemployment benefits by $600 a week. What should happen when those extra benefits expire?
Jul 23, 2020 The RAND Blog
The Racial Disparity in Unemployment Benefits
Economic racial inequality in America cannot be solved through unemployment insurance, but it certainly shouldn't be exacerbated by it. And yet, Black workers are less financially supported during unemployment, simply by virtue of where they live.
Jul 15, 2020 The RAND Blog
Working Moms at Risk of Being Left Behind in Economic Recovery
Being a working parent was hard enough before the pandemic. If COVID-19 intensifies the perception that parenting is at odds with work, then there may be devastating career consequences for working mothers.
Jun 11, 2020 United Press International
38 Million Have Applied for Unemployment—but How Many Have Received Benefits?
Unemployment Insurance may need substantial reform to its application process, but it has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic unemployment disaster. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the new program intended for workers who are not part of the employer tax base, has not.
Jun 1, 2020 The RAND Blog
Is the Unemployment Rate Now Higher Than It Was in the Great Depression?
The extent of COVID-19's effect on the labor market will be catastrophic for many workers and businesses. Matching the unemployment rate peak set by the Great Depression is not even necessary to establish the historic nature of the downturn that we're living through.
May 7, 2020 The RAND Blog
The Second Wave of COVID Consequences
Economists closely watch measures of consumer confidence because they are highly predictive economic indicators. New consumer data reveals likely long-term and prolonged economic fallout.
Apr 24, 2020 The RAND Blog
Parenting Through the Pandemic: Who's Working, Who's Caring for the Kids, and What Policies Might Help
To help inform policy decisions that could help working parents affected by COVID-19, we examined the U.S. Department of Labor's Current Population Survey and recent coronavirus relief acts. Our review shows us what aid working parents might expect and what kinds of aid policymakers might consider going forward.
Apr 8, 2020 The RAND Blog
Millions Need Unemployment Benefits. Unfortunately, the Delivery System Is Broken
More than 10 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance in March as businesses closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Washington's stimulus package enacted welcome measures to tide people over, but these temporary fixes don't address some serious structural problems.
Apr 6, 2020 Los Angeles Times
Should the Federal Workforce Stay Remote? Planning for After the Crisis
As physical distancing becomes the new norm, so too does telework. But should federal agencies maintain their remote operations for the long haul? As those of us involved with national security agencies, operations, and workforce issues know, this is not a decision to make lightly.
Apr 3, 2020 The RAND Blog
The Social Distancing Economy: Q&A with RAND Experts
Congress and the White House are weighing economic policies to help people acutely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Here are insights from RAND experts on what might be effective in terms of fiscal policy, stimulus spending, and emergency relief to affected workers.
Mar 18, 2020
Income Share Agreements: What's Risky, What's Promising, and What We Still Need to Know
While policymakers debate options to address college affordability and the nation's mounting student loan debt, an alternative education financing model has been gaining ground in a handful of schools and state legislatures: the income share agreement. While terms vary from institution to institution, they are all based on the same premise: The more income a graduate makes, the more they will pay back.
Jun 5, 2019 The RAND Blog
What Keeps Millennials Awake at Night Could Change Over Time
Millennials are less worried than baby boomers about national security topics and more worried about kitchen table issues, such as making ends meet each month and paying off debts. But this may have less to do with the fact that they are millennials and more to do with the fact that millennials are young.
Jul 30, 2018 United Press International
Why More Young Workers Are Relying on Financial Help from Parents
As today's young adults grapple with a difficult job market, high tuition costs, and rapidly rising rents, parents are increasingly providing financial support and other forms of assistance.
Aug 31, 2017 The RAND Blog
