Employment

Worker Voices
By Sarah Miller, Merissa Piazza, Ashley Putnam, Kristen Broady
How did workers in lower-wage jobs experience employment during the pandemic? The Federal Reserve held focus groups with workers and job seekers aged 20–55 years with less than a bachelor’s degree to find out.
Picture of pre-school aged children playing in classroom setting
By Fed Communities Staff
Families want quality early childhood education (ECE) but it’s often competitive to access and costly, especially for care during nontraditional hours. Providers face financial constraints of their own. What does recent research reveal? Watch or listen on demand.
A diverse group of preschoolers in a classroom.
By Benjamin Horowitz
Affordable, high-quality child care can be difficult for parents to access. Here is what Fed researchers have learned about supply constraints and demand challenges that hinder equitable access to quality child care.
Captured in a metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia primary school, this photograph depicts a typical classroom scene, where an audience of school children were seated on the floor before a teacher at the front of the room, who was reading an illustrated storybook, during one of the scheduled classroom sessions. Assisting the instructor were two female students to her left, and a male student on her right, who was holding up the book, while the seated classmates were raising their hands to answer questions related to the story just read.
By Fed Communities Staff
Child care is vital to supporting the financial wellbeing of workers, households, and communities. But despite their essential role in the economy, child care workers long have faced barriers to being valued at work and fairly compensated for their work.
Family getting tax preparation assistance
By Nathan Anderson
Many Americans with no or low income can benefit from expert tax-filing assistance, and in some cases, get thousands of dollars in tax refunds. 
Construction worker cutting wood in outside workspace
By Jessica King
Workers with jobs that offer stability, mobility, and support tend to stay with employers longer, and are less likely to leave the labor market.
Deonne Luacaw
By Gabriella Chiarenza
Losing public assistance benefits when their income goes up incentivizes some workers to stay in low-paying jobs. It discourages others who are willing to work from joining the workforce. Explore the issue and what's being done.
Playdate Illustration
By Gabriella Chiarenza
Families with a lower income are more likely to use certain public benefits—and lose them with a small raise or higher-paying job. Here are some of the most common benefits people can lose when they go over a benefits cliff.
A retired couple watches Alta Lake in Whistler, Canada
By Liz Duda
Most people want to retire to pursue other interests or when they reach normal retirement age. But life events often play a role.
Man in wheelchair in office space
By Emily Hershman, Vijay Palaparty
Find out how to apply COVID-19 learnings to create a more inclusive and equitable workplace.