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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.

Project

American Working Conditions Survey

Aug 14, 2017

How do Americans perceive their workplace? RAND's American Working Conditions Survey shows workers find their jobs physically demanding, hazardous, and hectic—but also social and supportive, and many retirees would prefer to return to work.
Article

Four Ways 3D Printing May Threaten Security

May 8, 2018

3D printing has the potential to improve lives. But it could also bring new perils, such as disrupting weapons regulations and jeopardizing manufacturing jobs. While there's reason to be cautious about this technology, there's also danger in overreacting and overregulating what could be a new era of innovation.

Explore Employment and Unemployment

Dissertation

Dissertation

Three Essays on Economic Growth and Human Welfare

Examines the influence of macroeconomic factors on individual welfare.

Oct 11, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

The Impact of Labor Market Regulation on Employment in Low-Income Countries: A Meta-Analysis

We conclude that the evidence for LICs (and recent LICs) points to a negative effect of regulations on formal employment, and a compensating positive effect on informal employment.

Sep 19, 2018
Essay

Appalachia Partnership Helps Both Workers and Employers in a Changing Market

An innovative program in Appalachia is realigning the skills of the workforce with the needs of employers, getting people back on the job and providing a 21st-century model of workforce development.

Aug 30, 2018
Report

A High-Quality Correctional Workforce Is Essential

Correctional staff can have a significant impact not only on the lives of offenders and their chances for successful outcomes, but also on the communities they return to upon release. An expert panel identified and prioritized ways to address the sector's workforce concerns.

Aug 7, 2018
Commentary

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
Article

Millennials Worry Less About National Security Than Baby Boomers Do—for Now

Millennials worry less than baby boomers about national security. But these views may have more to do with being young than being millennials.

Jun 14, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Ensuring High-Quality Job Creation from EU Funding Programmes: How Can the Best Practice of Horizon 2020 Be Better Integrated Into Other Programmes (ESF, Youth Guarantee, Globalisation Fund)?

Job creation has been a key focus of recovery in Europe since the 2008 Economic Crisis. This report assesses the potential of EU funding programmes to create high-quality jobs.

Jun 13, 2018
Report

Bridge to Opportunities: Connecting Probationers to High-Wage Jobs

Probation agencies face significant challenges to helping their clients find jobs, and earn living wages. One program focused on the construction industry aimed to improve the earning potential of individuals on probation in Sacramento County, California.

May 25, 2018
Commentary

Five Thoughts on Jerusalem, Gaza, and What's in Between

Dozens of people have been killed and over 2,000 injured in protests in the Gaza Strip along the border with Israel. Continued clashes are expected until the fundamental problems of the strip are solved, including the governance vacuum, the Palestinian Authority-Hamas rift, and the conflict with Israel.

May 15, 2018
News Release

News Release

3D Printing Could Disrupt Labor Markets and National Security

While advances in additive manufacturing offer potential breakthroughs in prosthetic arms, jet engine parts, and a host of other products, 3D printing, as it is known, may also disrupt traditional labor markets and exacerbate existing security threats from violent actors.

May 9, 2018
Report

Additive Manufacturing in 2040: Powerful Enabler, Disruptive Threat

If additive manufacturing—also called 3D printing—continues to develop along its current trends, it could profoundly alter the global economy, international security, and the organization of society.

May 8, 2018
Essay

Why Unretirement Is Working for Older Americans

Significant numbers of older Americans move in and out of the workforce. One in five workers today is 55 or older. By 2024, that number will be one in four. Older workers report having more meaningful work and more workplace flexibility than their younger peers.

Mar 6, 2018
Research Brief

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

To inform efforts aimed at improving employment rates and earnings potential for ex-offenders, RAND researchers examined employer preferences of policy options designed to incentivize employment of individuals with felony criminal records.

Feb 8, 2018
Report

Job Search Process Is Working for Veterans

A comparison of the unemployment experiences of ex–service members and civilians finds that while both groups had similar durations of unemployment, veterans delayed filing for benefits. But once engaged with employment services, they made active use of tools like job referrals and training.

Feb 8, 2018
Report

How to Incentivize Employers to Hire Ex-Offenders

People with criminal records are marginalized in the labor market. What policies might incentivize employers to hire them? Some options include tax credits and replacement guarantees if an ex-offender proves to be unsuitable once hired.

Jan 15, 2018
Commentary

Mental Health Challenges in the Construction Industry

Employers looking to address mental health problems among staff must recognize the causes and understand mental health challenges within the organization. Construction workers could face greater risk than workers in other sectors, but awareness of support and help remains low.

Jan 11, 2018
Journal Article

How Jakarta's Traffic Affects Labor Market Outcomes for Women and People with Disabilities: Results from a Baseline Survey

From the research reviewed and the existing data summarized, this report develops a theory of change for how labor market outcomes for females might be influenced by improvements to public transportation.

Dec 28, 2017
Dissertation

Dissertation

Labor Market Outcomes of Youth and Women in Newly Industrialized and Developing Countries

This dissertation examines the effects of exogenous shocks and labor market policies on employment, wages, and human capital development of youth and women.

Dec 4, 2017
Report

Report

The Appalachia Partnership Initiative's Investments in Education, Workforce Development, and the Community: Technical Appendixes

These technical appendixes provide more details on the methodology, data, and findings in the report, The Appalachia Partnership Initiative's Investments in Education, Workforce Development, and the Community: Analysis of the First Stage, 2014-2016.

Nov 10, 2017

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