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Employment and Unemployment

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An individual's education, age, and health status may present barriers or opportunities to employability, just as a region's economy, tax base, and number of immigrants and emigrants may affect job availability. RAND research examines the impact of a range of policies and forces—personal, regional, and global—on employment and unemployment.

Research Brief

The U.S. Workforce Development and Employment System Needs an Overhaul

Sep 19, 2019

Despite globalization, technology, and demographic changes, the U.S. approach to education, training, and workforce development still operates on a 20th-century model. Americans need a system that provides on-ramps for transitioning individuals to access opportunities while suitably matching workers and jobs.
Research Brief

What Policies Are Most Effective at Incentivizing Employers to Hire Ex-Offenders?

Feb 14, 2018

Ex-offenders are less likely to be hired than members of other disadvantaged groups, and former felons with poor economic outcomes are more likely to return to criminal activity. A survey of 100 employers examined how they responded to incentives to hire people with felony criminal records.

Explore Employment and Unemployment

Research Brief

Nearly Half of Retirees Would Return to Work

Overall, older workers report having more meaningful work and more workplace flexibility than their younger peers. Nearly half of retirees say they would return to work under the right conditions—and a large number already have.

Nov 12, 2019
Commentary

Do Workers' Protections Need to Depend on Employee Status? Looking Beyond AB 5

As the nature of work evolves and the relationships between workers and firms become increasingly complex, it's possible that disentangling worker protections from worker classification rules will become a policy option worth further exploration.

Oct 17, 2019
Report

Report

Effectiveness of Screened, Demand-Driven Job Training Programs for Disadvantaged Workers: An Evaluation of the New Orleans Career Pathway Training

The authors of this report examine the implementation and effectiveness of a New Orleans job training program that helped lower-skilled, unemployed, and underemployed individuals train for and find skilled jobs in particular industries.

Oct 17, 2019
Research Brief

What Works for Job Training Programs for Disadvantaged Workers

Can workforce development programs resolve the mismatch between the talent available and the skills in demand? An evaluation of the New Orleans Career Pathways program offers insights that should be helpful to anyone striving to create or improve such programs.

Oct 17, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Does Home Production Replace Consumption Spending? Evidence from Shocks in Housing Wealth in the Great Recession

This paper sheds new light on the importance of home production in welfare analyses by focusing on the elasticity of substitution estimated over the retired population, thus holding constant non-work time, but also on the share of spending that is potentially substitutable.

Sep 20, 2019
Report

Report

Reimagining the Workforce Development and Employment System for the 21st Century and Beyond

U.S. education, training, and workforce development have not significantly changed despite 21st-century needs. To address this, RAND Corporation researchers developed a systems-level, blue-sky approach to rethinking system functions and features.

Sep 19, 2019
Report

Report

The Appalachia Partnership Initiative's Investments in K–12 Education and Catalyzing the Community: Reflections from 2014 Through 2017

RAND researchers assessed the Appalachia Partnership Initiative's (API's) investments in K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and initiatives related to catalyzing the community from October 2014 to December 2017.

Aug 29, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Business Cycles and Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment

The relationship between business cycles and health is theoretically complex. In a seminal paper, Ruhm (2000) outlined a series of economic mechanisms through which business cycles may influence health.

Aug 6, 2019
Commentary

How Work-Based Learning Can Bring Employers and Students Together

Work-based learning experiences help college grads better prepare for work. WBL programs often serve as a workforce pipeline for companies. WBL is also successful at the K-12 level and at "upskilling" adult workers. There are several ways Congress could foster and strengthen WBL.

Jul 24, 2019
News Release

Parents Who Support Unemployed Adult Children Curb Their Own Behavior

Parents who financially help their unemployed adult children offset such costs by adjusting their behavior, particularly by spending less money on food, working more, and reducing retirement savings.

Jul 9, 2019
Journal Article

Pittsburgh Equity Indicators: A Baseline Measurement for Enhancing Equity in Pittsburgh

The 2018 Pittsburgh Equity Indicators report in enables the comparison of two years of data to measure change in disparities. The report includes information on equality scores for 2017 and 2018, as well as "change scores" between years.

Apr 24, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Pittsburgh Equity Indicators: A Baseline Measurement for Enhancing Equity in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Equity Indicators assess annual progress toward equitable opportunities and outcomes for Pittsburghers of all races, genders, and incomes. The 2017 report summarizes baseline equality scores, which measure disparities in Pittsburgh.

Apr 24, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Knowledge Development Report: Veterans' Employment and Training Services (VETS) Research Study Design

This report presents information needed to design an evaluation that can address questions specified in a Congressionally-mandated Department of Labor longitudinal study of job counseling, training, and placement service for veterans.

Apr 17, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Evaluation Design Options Report: Veterans' Employment and Training Services (VETS) Research Study Design

This report presents multiple evaluation design options to address questions specified in specified in a Congressionally-mandated Department of Labor longitudinal study of job counseling, training, and placement service for veterans.

Apr 17, 2019
Commentary

Economic Burden or Opportunity? How Syrian Refugees Can Contribute to Local Economies

The influx of refugees escaping the war in Syria has placed an enormous economic burden on the countries that host them. Despite the challenges, host countries have an opportunity to capitalize on the presence of refugees to grow their own economies for the mutual benefit of all.

Mar 25, 2019
Report

Report

Developing a National Recruiting Difficulty Index

The U.S. Army recognizes that the recruiting environment has a significant impact on its ability to recruit. This report presents a forecasting model that measures recruiting difficulty to forecast a difficult or easy recruiting environment.

Mar 13, 2019
Commentary

Jobs Can Improve the Lives of Syrian Refugees and Their Host Communities

Host governments, international development agencies, and donor countries like the United States could take several steps to improve Syrian refugee employment. This would increase self-reliance among Syrian refugees and ease pressures on host communities.

Mar 11, 2019
Commentary

As Refugees, Syrian Women Find Liberation in Working

Syrian refugee women in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan want opportunities to work. But there are multiple barriers and challenges that limit them. Improving the chances of safe and dignified work opportunities for Syrian women in these countries could yield broad positive social benefits for both the refugee and host communities.

Feb 19, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Functional Limitations and Employment Among Disability Benefit Recipients with Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Mediation Analysis

This paper uses the National Beneficiary Survey to study the relationship between functional limitations, health conditions and employment among disability beneficiaries with musculoskeletal conditions in a multivariate mediation analysis.

Feb 19, 2019

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