Contributor: Cleveland Fed

Open sign with American flag
By Liz Duda
Small-business ownership allows military veterans to leverage skills gained while they served. The Fed’s Small Business Credit Survey shares insights about how veteran-owned businesses are doing.
Ellie Flinchum, Whitney Felder, and Amir Watkins-Usher stand in front of the seal of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
By Amir Watkins-Usher, Ellie Flinchum
Two rising high school seniors share insights from a Black small-business owner about the challenges of running a small lawn care business.
Community Perspectives and Conditions, July 2023
By Federal Reserve Community Development Staff
Here’s what nonprofit and community leaders, and workforce professionals serving lower-income people shared with the Federal Reserve for the July 2023 Beige Book.
Black businessman with short hair, a black shirt, and wearing glasses talks on the phone. He sits at a wooden desk with framed photos on the wall behind him.
By Lucas Misera
Half of businesses survive at least five years but many start on shaky financial footing. The Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey reveals unique funding challenges for startups owned by people of color.
Two attendees at the Policy Summit listening intently to the keynote speaker.
By Anne O’Shaughnessy
More than 400 community development professionals met in Cleveland, Ohio in mid-June for Policy Summit 2023, an event that featured various sessions aimed at highlighting and addressing economic challenges in the current economy.
Worker Voices
By Sarah Miller, Merissa Piazza, Ashley Putnam, Kristen Broady
Worker Voices provides a unique view into how job seekers and workers in lower-wage roles navigated the labor market at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and through recovery—and how it changed what they expect from a job.
Worker Voices
By Sarah Miller, Merissa Piazza, Ashley Putnam, Kristen Broady
The Federal Reserve held focus groups with workers and job seekers with less than a bachelor’s degree, seeking to understand their perspectives and expectations on employment. Here’s what we heard.
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.
Worker Voices
By Sarah Miller, Merissa Piazza, Ashley Putnam, Kristen Broady
Have questions about Worker Voices? Get to know the methodology, coding approach, community-based participatory research principles employed, and limitations; statistics on participant demographics; and the facilitation guide questions used.
Sold welcome mat
By Gabriella Chiarenza
Homeownership is an onramp to wealth for some Americans. For others, buying a house is out of reach. Here’s one way to pinpoint who is getting their foot in the door, and where.