Worker Voices: Shifting perspectives and expectations on employment

Gathering worker voices

During times of economic crisis, we look to the labor market to understand the strength of the nation’s economic recovery. Employment data help us understand job creation and hiring trends, while input from businesses provides insight on industry strength and business conditions. This study was launched in May 2022, when many indicators demonstrated an economy rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic,^[1] including unemployment at a historical low, wages on the rise, and employer shifts in hiring practices to open the doors to more job seekers.^[2]

In that same month, there were approximately two job openings for every one job seeker, and labor force participation lagged prepandemic rates.^[3] This disconnect raised the question: What are workers looking for in employment? While policymakers, researchers, and practitioners debated the rapidly changing market,^[4] we turned our attention to learning how workers were navigating those changes. To better understand the nation’s economic conditions, we looked beyond the numbers to hear about the experiences and the decisions of nondegree workers and job seekers about their engagement in the labor market.

In previous downturns, the individuals who have felt the greatest impact of economic shocks were those who were already in financially unstable positions.^[5] In the job market, this includes workers in low-wage roles, workers of color, and workers without a four-year degree, all of whom bore the brunt of the initial pandemic layoffs, with increased job loss and rising instability of work.^[6] Previous downturns have demonstrated that these individuals are typically first to lose their jobs and slower to rebuild assets during the subsequent recoveries.^[7] Examining the lived experiences of those most at risk in the labor market can aid in a broader understanding of employment needs or barriers for how such workers navigate economic shocks, as well as inform future research, policy, and business choices.

One of the tasks of the Federal Reserve is to keep a finger on the pulse of economic conditions. Doing so helps the Fed achieve its dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment. While employment data can provide a picture of unemployment, labor force participation, and unfilled jobs, they do not always tell us the full story about disparities in recovery nor worker experiences and preferences. This research paper set out to capture these worker experiences and perspectives.

Worker Voices is a Federal Reserve System research effort that engaged workers in low-wage roles and nondegree job seekers in focus groups to understand their experiences of the economy during the recovery. The research enabled the workers engaged in this process to answer questions about their experiences with the labor market: What were their experiences with employment during the onset of the pandemic and the economic recovery? Do these workers believe they are benefiting from strong labor market conditions and experiencing greater economic stability? What barriers persist and prevent them from returning and remaining in the labor market? How are they navigating recent labor market conditions, and what does that tell us about what they will prioritize going forward?

From these conversations conducted from May 2022 through September of 2022, four major themes emerged. We discuss each in this report.

These focus groups allowed nuanced discussions offering insight regarding worker decisions about job searching and overall labor force participation. Gathering worker perspectives, especially from those most vulnerable in the economy, helps researchers, policymakers, and practitioners better understand the labor market and support an inclusive and resilient economy.

Economic background

From the initial impacts of pandemic-era layoffs to continued disruptions in work, research has demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic sharpened existing inequalities in the labor market.^[8] Because of emergency stay-at-home orders and other pandemic precautions, millions of people lost their jobs when businesses shut down.

These closures had an outsized impact on low-wage workers, including minorities and those with less than a college degree, who often hold frontline jobs.^[9] Other research demonstrated that women of color were disproportionately affected by the initial wave of layoffs, largely owing to occupational segregation in jobs that require high contact with the public.^[10] Furthermore, lower-wage customer service jobs in hospitality, retail, and food service industries, which tend to employ workers without college degrees,^[11] represented a higher proportion of low-income and minority workers who lost their jobs because of the pandemic.^[12]  

Additionally, according to an April 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll, 34 percent of US adults said they had been deemed essential workers and were working outside their homes.^[13] These workers were more likely to be Black, have a household income under $40,000, and not have earned a college degree.^[14] The majority of frontline workers and those affected by pandemic layoffs were women and nondegree workers, and they were disproportionately people of color.^[15] Knowing this background, we focused this study on workers without four-year degrees, workers of color, workers in workforce programs, and workers in industries such as those identified previously.

The COVID-19 pandemic created a safety imperative for people to work from home. But the ability to work remotely was not guaranteed, particularly for workers in low-wage roles.^[16] During the height of the pandemic, Barrero, Bloom, and Davis estimated that those working from home accounted for about 50 percent of paid work hours.^[17] However, workers without college degrees were less likely to be able to work remotely.^[18] To illustrate this disparity, roughly three out of every five workers with a bachelor’s degree were able to work from home, versus one in eight workers with a high school degree or less.^[19] Furthering these disparities, when comparing race, white workers were able to work from home at a higher rate than Black and Hispanic workers.^[20]

At the midpoint of data collection of this research in July 2022, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data showed roughly two open jobs for every one job seeker.^[21] The national unemployment rate was at a 50-year low of 3.5 percent.^[22] At the same time, the labor force participation rate lagged prepandemic levels,^[23] which left many industries struggling to find workers, particularly hospitality, retail, and other sectors with a disproportionate share of lower-wage jobs.^[24] Employers reported labor as a primary challenge, and many indicated they were shifting practices to attract talent and widen the hiring pool. These practices included reducing degree requirements on jobs at significant rates^[25] and becoming more flexible on background checks to not exclude justice-impacted^[26] individuals.^[27] Additionally, real wage growth was occurring for the lowest-paid roles in the economy.^[28] 

The recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic included movement in and out of work, particularly in low-wage sectors.^[29] In 2021, 47.8 million American workers quit their jobs, the highest number in JOLTS data collection history.^[30] A survey from the Pew Research Center found that in 2021, workers quit jobs primarily because of low pay, no opportunity for advancement, and feeling disrespected; workers without a college degree were more likely than those with bachelor’s degrees to quit because of a lack of flexibility, insufficient hours, and vaccine requirements.^[31] The pandemic also hit automatable jobs held by minority workers particularly hard, resulting in possible long-term jobs losses as employers continue to shift to automation to reduce risks.^[32] Whether these factors have been demand-push or supply-pull, the pandemic has brought substantial changes to the landscape of work for nondegree workers.^[33] 

All these factors set the context of our conversations and the direction of the research questions. This project aims to supplement existing research and to understand the experiences, motivations, and priorities of workers without a bachelor’s degree in relation to the labor market. Knowing if and how their priorities around work have changed will contribute to supply-side research and provide insights that will broaden economic context in a postpandemic labor market.  

Methodology

Focus group–based data collection and qualitative analysis methods were used to facilitate discussions on barriers and motivators to identify experiences, attitudes, and perceptions that influence worker behavior change using a qualitative methodology.^[34] An inductive approach was used to ask questions, identify themes, and find conclusions. Participants were selected through a convenience sampling approach leveraging more than 60 community-based workforce development partners of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks to refer participants. A total of 1,243 workers and job seekers responded to a questionnaire, from which 175 participants were selected for focus groups. Selected participants were from 33 states, representing 147 zip codes. They were between the ages of 20 and 55 and did not have a bachelor’s degree. A total of 20 virtual, 90-minute focus groups, including one pilot session to refine questions and the facilitation process, were conducted between May 2022 and September 2022. This study represents our analysis of input from 167 participants through 19 focus groups conducted following the pilot session.

Participants in this study, as they were identified through community-based workforce providers or training organizations, bias the study’s sample toward workers and job seekers who were more likely to have received employment placement services and supports or who were previously or are currently enrolled in training programs. 

A full discussion of the study’s methodology, coding approach, community-based participatory research principles employed, and limitations is in Appendix A; statistics on participant demographics are in Appendix B; and the facilitation guide questions used are in Appendix C.

“I worked all the way up to September of last year (2021) and through that I caught COVID, like, three times … my kids stayed at home because one of my youngest has asthma. So my fear and responsibility is a little bit different from other [people] … but I had to feed my kids. If I don’t work, I don’t eat.”
– Worker Voices participant

During the pandemic, many workers, especially those in low-wage roles or without the ability to work remotely, were faced with the choice between a loss of income and a variety of risks to health and well-being for both them and their families. These experiences were described as “traumatic” and “scary” realities, in which many participants had to weigh safety concerns, economic insecurity, caregiving, and other persistent barriers that were exacerbated by the pandemic, such as child care support and transportation access. Some participants recounted the highly nuanced calculations they made around if and where to work during the pandemic, and reflected on how those experiences affected how they approached future employment opportunities.

Pandemic-induced job insecurity and financial precarity

For many participants, their experiences with job instability during the onset of the pandemic and the economic recovery caused significant financial insecurity. Some participants who experienced layoffs at the onset of the pandemic shared concerns about being able to pay their bills and find long-term stable work. Others who remained employed shared the fear and stress they endured wondering if and when the economic downturn would affect their employment security. Many participants indicated they were scrambling to find income to survive these job losses. One noted:

“With time, there were more layoffs, layoffs, layoffs, and layoffs, until it was also my turn. I got fired too. And then I had to clean houses, clean toilets, anything to survive that pandemic year. Well, even now. I’m still doing it.”

Workers not born in the United States who participated in the focus groups in particular expressed feeling that they were in roles that had no guarantee of stability. These individuals articulated anxiety around the precarious nature of their employment status as migrant workers As one participant noted:

“But still, I was feeling uncertain about the possibility that I could be laid off because, when they do cutbacks, migrants are the first people they fire. And I was struck by anxiety—I mean, I could be fired at any time.”

During this time, extended unemployment benefits and stimulus checks were released to ease the income losses that many experienced as a result of the pandemic. Individuals in focus groups who did receive unemployment benefits or stimulus checks indicated the programs gave them a chance to temporarily make ends meet but did not provide sufficient financial security. As several participants noted:

“It was a help, but trust me, before it came, it was gone.”

“The stimulus was just a means to like catch up.”

“Unemployment was, like, terrible compared to like your living wage … it was so far from what my income was, but it was the most I could get.”

All participants who received financial supports through unemployment and stimulus dollars indicated that those funds did not provide sufficient resources to stop seeking employment altogether. While some participants found the public benefits provided them with financial stability in a time of income insecurity, others indicated that the benefits allowed them to seek better employment and better pay. One participant shared how stimulus dollars gave them a chance to enjoy financial security for the first time in their life, which allowed them to be particular in their job search and find a role that met their needs. Their story uplifts how the stimulus dollars offered a smoothing effect to ease issues of financial instability while job seekers focused their efforts on their job search and trying to find the right job for them:

“I was always in a position where I had to struggle to get the things that I needed, and those stimulus checks coming in was like one of the first times in my adult life that I felt that I could actually breathe. So in regards to the pandemic’s effect on [work], it wasn’t so much the cost and unavailability of things for me. It was more the [kind of] work aspect of things.”

Conversely, several participants talked about why they did not receive unemployment benefits or did not receive them in a timely fashion. Some were ineligible based on employer determinations, limited work histories, or immigration status barriers. Others spoke of processing issues causing significant delays in receiving funds. Finally, some articulated that they did not apply because of mistrust in government programs and a belief that the money would have to be paid back. These issues prevented workers from either filing or receiving unemployment benefits. As one participant described their experience:

“So it was during this entire pandemic, it’s just literally been me grinding and hustling and trying to make ends meet by myself. No, like, extra pay. No assistance from the government, and like that’s hard … we have to adjust to it or, in a sense, eat or be eaten, and that’s how you really got to put it.”

This left some participants reliant on even more precarious sources of income, such as support from community-based or faith-based networks. Some also shared they chose to engage in various forms of gig work, such as app-based forms of employment or as independent contractors, for short-term and often hourly and part-time work.

“I’ll say for me, it wasn’t really easy. It was very challenging because … I was very concerned for my health and for the health of my child … I was also very scared because I thought maybe I could lose my job and I wasn’t going to be able to provide the necessary means for my children. And it was a very tough and challenging moment for me at that period.”

Additionally, participant perceptions that employers were mismanaging safety guidelines or failing to adhere to safety protocols negatively affected many participants’ work experiences, particularly those who were unable to work from home. Some shared how they felt “left in the dark” or caught in the middle of shifting safety measures and expected to act as enforcers of COVID safety guidelines in the workplace—for coworkers and customers—with little support. These experiences sometimes led participants to engage differently with employment and seek different types of jobs. As one former food service worker reflected:

“And the restaurant, the restaurant I worked at, they weren’t keeping us safe. They were just worried about trying to recoup the money they lost, so they weren’t following guidelines. They weren’t keeping up with it, and if you said you were sick or said you had symptoms, they blew you off because they needed you there more than they didn’t need you there. You know? And if you said you were feeling sick, they would make you sit on the side for two or three hours, and then say you can go home. I don’t—I didn’t see how that was fair, so I couldn’t do that no more … people were coming around sneezing, coughing, no mask. Hand washing was minimal … I moved on to something else where I could stay safe and keep my family safe.”

Pandemic exacerbated barriers

Participants who were dependent on public transportation to get to work shared concerns about the jobs available to them, given where they lived and their proximity to limited, unreliable, or unavailable transit options made worse because of pandemic reductions in service. Other participants who had their own vehicles noted rising gas prices at the time creating a disincentive to work in jobs with longer commutes and lower wages. Participants noted these transportation barriers and related costs were compounded as a result of the pandemic and added additional complexity to their decisions around employment. 

Participants who were housing insecure spoke of unique challenges weighing the need for a job against rising costs of living and finding income that covered basic housing. Other individuals in our lfocus groups, specifically those with a disability, indicated how the pandemic caused them to weigh considerable health risks against their need for income and their need to prioritize jobs that accounted for their disability.

Another participant shared how hopeless they felt in the aftermath of the pandemic:

“The sense of hopelessness is so deep, and so far-reaching … we’re all doing our best to try to find that hope … I think that the biggest thing the pandemic has shown a lot of working-class folks … is that no one’s coming to save us.”

All in all, participants shared a nuanced, highly complex approach to how they weighed personal and familial risks and made day-to-day decisions around employment. Workers in lower-wage roles and nondegree job seekers in these focus groups made tradeoffs among job stability, health and safety, caregiving responsibilities, and mental health. The complex choices they described caused a shift in their perspectives around work and how they navigate the labor market.

During tight labor markets, specifically when many jobs were open and workers were switching jobs at a higher rate as was the case in 2022, workers and job seekers theoretically have a relatively easy time finding employment or improving their employment situations.^[47] However, many of the participants engaged in this study who were looking for work or better employment options shared challenges related to their job searches and expressed their frustrations about the lack of success securing employment. These difficulties, expressed by one participant below, led them to question how strong the job market was:

“I’ll just say like, I’m part of a job board, and like daily, you’ll see people putting their resumes out saying they’ve applied for like 20, 30 jobs, and they haven’t been called. So I don’t know what it is that people aren’t hiring or because most of these people are like, fresh out of college with degrees, and they can’t even find work… how [are] so many people are looking for work that still can’t find it when, you know, all we hear is like the economy’s coming back, the economy is coming back, but how are so many people looking for jobs?”

These were not isolated or singular experiences. Many participants who were trying to reenter the job market or change jobs also lamented the lack of any follow-up from prospective employers after applying for anywhere from 30 to over 100 jobs in their job search. While most noted they would send a job application and not receive any response, some noted they had received only rejections to their applications, while others were notified that their qualifications and experience were below expectations for the role. As two participants noted: 

“I applied to a total of 75 jobs. And I was given a lot of [employment] resources [from the trade school I attended]. Maybe I didn’t have enough experience in my trade in order to get a job … I do know, however, that I sent out a lot of applications and only heard rejections.”

“I’ve probably put in for the last three months about I would say 80 to 100 applications, and so since I haven’t been able to find a job … I’ve been pulled in for interviews and not selected because I’m not what they’re looking for.”

Specifics as to why job search efforts were so unsuccessful were not captured during the study. It was not clear in their comments whether workers were applying for roles parallel to jobs they held previously or if they were pursuing opportunities that required higher levels of education or experience and were potentially more competitive roles. However, while employers were removing degree requirements, lessening expectations of experience,^[48] and increasing flexibility of hiring policies to widen applicant pools,^[49] the participants in our focus groups did not necessarily feel more doors had been opened.

The roles that implicit and explicit bias, systemic discrimination,^[50] or structural racism played in hiring barriers were not directly discussed by participants, although existing research shows how significant these factors can be in preventing workers from attaching to employment.^[51]  An outlier in our focus groups, immigrant participants in particular did note the discrimination they experienced through employer treatment, which influenced how and where they found work. As one participant shared:

“I was mistreated because some clients wanted to mistreat me … at least in my case, for being Latina, and they wanted to treat me poorly, and that was one of the reasons I didn’t want to keep looking for a job … I worked for some time cleaning houses, and I had the problem that I told the clients how much I was charging for the service, and afterwards they wouldn’t pay what I was asking. They say my work was not worth what I considered. So they decided I wasn’t worthy, that I was worth less, and they wanted to pay whatever they felt like.”

Another participant who identified as a Black man noted his experience with poor treatment in traditional employment and how that experience motivated him to consider looking to self-employment as a future option:

“I’m going through a lot working for people, and I’ve seen the way how they are not treated—how they have not been able to treat me nicely, because of my race and color. So, I’m kind of going through a lot, doing all this kind of work. So, I would love to be a boss of my own.”

Another significant challenge participants noted was their observation of fairly low levels of pay amid the abundance of job openings. While labor market data show significant wage growth in low-wage work more so than in higher-paid roles during the economic recovery,^[52] some participants expressed that wages associated with open positions were too low to entice them to pursue the job at all:

“I see there are more opportunities, but the pay is not attractive enough, and that has been my experience looking for a new job.”

“Jobs are out there, but they’re not really giving you enough money to maintain … $12, $13, $14 an hour is just not going to work.”

These issues of misalignment in responsibilities and wages were not just realities they experienced on the job. They were also reflected in job postings. One participant shared their observations of low wages with increased job expectations and how that contributes to burnout or a worker being “spread too thin”:

“Talking about observations on trying to find a job. One thing I noticed, it seems like a lot of companies want a huge list of things that you’re going to be responsible for, for paying less. They want you to do everything and to not pay. How can you stretch somebody so thin and expect to pay so little? I’ve noticed that a lot.”

The mental and physical stress these workers noted not only caused dissatisfaction in their work life but also contributed to their home life suffering as well, since many had to juggle inflexible schedules, long shifts, and child care responsibilities, among other issues in their lives. Some participants quit their jobs. Others stayed in their roles out of a financial necessity, even though they were taking on too much responsibility. Some said that the difficulties they faced had forced them to reconsider what jobs they pursued or whether they wanted to work at all. As one participant noted:

“They hired people, and then they don’t have enough people to work. And … leave us to do, like, our job and other people’s job, which … causes a lot of stress. [It] makes you not even want to work. [It’s] really hard.”

All these experiences with labor shortage stressors and increased workloads led many participants to describe the complexities of burnout effects they endured on the job and how those experiences caused them to reevaluate what they expected from employment:    

“So the job they hire you to do, you end up having to do like three or four more jobs on top of that. Yeah, it was kind of tough, mentally and physically.”

“But because they did let a lot of other people go, everybody that stayed had, you know, double, triple whatever they had to do. And it was very, very stressful, you know … and I kind of had a little bit of, you know, breakdown in a way. So I started to see that I didn’t want to do this, you know. I didn’t want to devote my life to a company. So it made me kind of rethink my life and look for something that was more fulfilling.”

Among the many participants who noted their experiences with burnout, descriptions were common across many different sectors, from logistics to manufacturing to healthcare. Burnout was particularly prevalent among workers previously or currently employed in the food service and hospitality sectors.

“We want certain benefits, we want certain hours, certain schedules, and before the pandemic, we were not like that. That is, what they gave us, we accepted because we need the work. And after the pandemic we realized … work sometimes needs us more.”
– Worker Voices participant

Nearly all focus group participants articulated how their expectations of work had shifted because of two things: their experiences at the onset of the pandemic, when they were making complex calculations about health and financial risks associated with employment, and their experiences navigating labor shortages and tight labor market conditions. While researchers and stakeholders have articulated various frameworks around job quality,^[53] these focus groups provided an opportunity for workers to share both their own definition of a good job and their perceptions of job quality.

Research suggests workers in low-wage roles are increasingly seeing quality attributes as a minimum expectation, rather than aspirational and available only to workers in higher-wage occupations or with higher levels of educational attainment.^[54] Participants in this research echoed that sentiment. While in theory job quality is a multidimensional, multidisciplinary phenomenon shaped by the individual, organizations, and society, in practice job quality is a flexible construct based on job factors and life circumstances,^[55] which the participants discussed at length.

The conversation among almost all the participants focused on the job quality attributes they now expect from employment opportunities. They shared perspectives on how they saw job quality as connected to enhanced job security and stability^[56] and improved job satisfaction that would reduce their stress,^[57] which aligned to existing research on the effects of job quality, specifically for workers in low-wage occupations.^[58]

Many participants discussed their baseline expectations from jobs in the postpandemic labor market, with many noting various elements of personal necessities as top priorities, like flexibility and feeling valued. Very few, however, indicated that wages alone would meet their new expectation of a quality job. Although having a job with a wage that covers the costs of living and is proportional to job responsibilities is of high importance, participants highlighted how critical elements of feeling respected, having agency to determine work boundaries, or flexibility to achieve a greater work-life balance are all aspects of work that now have a higher premium to these workers than in the pre-pandemic labor market. Additionally, their comments reinforced how critical job security and stability are to minimize negative effects on their mental well-being. These feelings stemmed from employment experiences at the onset of the pandemic when hours or entire roles would be reduced or eliminated at any point with no warning.

These experiences shaped participants’ loyalty or disloyalty to an employer, what they looked for in a new job, and what they expected from an employer. Others talked about employment stability as a means to greater stability in their life in general. As one participant noted, they were searching not for a dream job but simply a stable one, reinforcing the baseline importance of job stability, particularly for those whose lives have been adversely affected by experiences with precarious employment:

“I don’t have a dream job. I just need something that—or would like something that’s going to give me, get me back on a, you know, stable life.”

“You understand that you should look for something more essential, that could guarantee at least stability during harsh times, like the one we’re going through.”

“I think everything is encapsulated into treating other people as just being a good human being, you know? Now, what an employer should do for an employee is one, respect his opinion … secondly, he should treat him as himself, not as just a worker.”

Some participants surfaced how a positive work environment took priority over marginal differences in wages and also increased their productivity on the job. As one participant noted:

“[The work environment is] more important to me than pay, honestly … I was earning like 50 cents more, but I was not treated well … making sure that like you’re treated kind of like you’re actually a person, and that way, like it just helps. Like, I feel like it helps me work better because I actually feel like they value me as a team member.”  

Some participants shared stories of how they started to exercise their agency on the job by “sticking up for [themselves]” and setting boundaries on what they were and were not willing to accept in terms of responsibilities and hours. As these participants noted:

“I’ve learned that, like when I was working at jobs, and they’d be like, hey, can you do this? I would overextend myself, but for what? Now I’m tired. Just put your foot down. Like, know your boundaries, too. Because at the end of the day, we are essential for the business to run.” 

“I’ve kind of really realized my worth, and I will stick up for what I believe in … because whenever you work 100 hours a week, and you don’t get offered time for if you get sick … you don’t get any type of [additional] compensation. You very much realize how little you matter. And I know myself, I matter more than that.”

One participant shared frustrations about their perceived lack of agency in the wider job market and offered an opinion that the economy did not recover in a way that established bargaining power for safety or wages for workers. Whereas research has shown that unemployment insurance has historically increased job quality selectivity for a worker,^[59] one participant offered a different point of view on their perceptions of job opportunities following their experience with unemployment:  

“The stimulus checks and unemployment was just enough to cover my bills … I know that with the little extra bump that we were getting, it was okay for a little bit. But for two years, it was almost like the country put us in a place that made us desperate to do anything to go back, and didn’t really have a leg to stand on, as far as bargaining [for] safety, or wages, or how we’re coming back.”

Another participant noted they did not feel empowered to advocate for higher wages out of fear of losing the job, highlighting their lack of agency, which runs counter to how a tight labor market and high inflationary period, such as the conditions during this study, should typically enable greater negotiating power around wages for workers^[60]:

“They want me to do more responsibility but not with any additional pay. It’s not that it’s harder work. It’s just more. I’ve only been there six months. So, and I’m fine with the pay, but it’s kind of like, um, you know, I guess I’m fearful to ask like, so, I keep getting all these new responsibilities. When do I get a pay [increase]?”

These sentiments illustrate how participants experienced feelings of being unvalued or undervalued in jobs during the pandemic and up to the time of the focus groups, as well as how these feelings influenced how and if they engaged with employment and what they prioritized in their job search. Some comments were aligned with the idea of not settling for certain jobs or work environments. These sentiments reflect the nuanced nature of the worker experiences shared in this research, since some participants indicated they could not find work at all, and others noted their lack of agency in their job or the labor market more broadly and had to work anywhere doing anything to survive. Participants shared how they were shifting their perspectives around agency, dignity, and value in their work, or in the qualities they sought from an employer. They talked about a shift in their perspective on work as a result of pandemic workplace realities. One participant explained: 

“And I think during the pandemic—it kind of flipped the tables a little bit. Like, no, you know, like, I know that I can bring a lot to the table. Are you going to uphold your end of the half as an employer? So at least for me, it gave me a different perspective of like, you know, like don’t settle for less.”

“There’s just so much that keeps going up. Inflation is crazy, but our minimum wage stays … we need to move up … it’s already time for us to start paying, you know, people $20 an hour. Like, there’s no need for people to be struggling.”

“To live in [an urban area], you have to make a minimum of $21 an hour. That’s just the minimum for, and that’s not even to live nice. That’s just the minimum of living okay.”

Workers spoke about not only how much additional work they were taking on but also how low their levels of pay were to begin with. This finding adds context and depth to national data on wages, which show wages have risen significantly for lower-wage roles. Participants in this study articulated that wages were too low to start, and even with increases brought on by tight labor market conditions, wages often fell short of covering costs of living. Moreover, as previously discussed, many noted their experiences of misaligned responsibilities and pay on the job. Many participants shared common experiences around increasing workloads while pay remained flat. As one participant stated:

“I’m only getting $10.25, $10.75 and I’m doing more than—more than they require me to do. In my mind, it’s like, why are we not getting paid more?”

Another participant noted that while jobs were available, making it easier from their perspective to find work, the jobs available were not offering the same pay as before. While businesses indicated they were reducing job requirements to ease labor shortages,^[61] participants in this study felt that the reductions in credentials or educational requirements were also matched with reductions in pay, reflected in this worker’s comment:

“It’s kind of easier now [to find a job] because people kind of have eased up on that part [job requirements] … they’ll change the title and lower the pay … it could be the same administrative position they offered last year, it’s just lowered by $2 hourly pay.”

Participants also recognized that not only do they want flexibility from their employer but also that they must be flexible and empathetic about the needs of their coworkers:

“And my view has changed from before to now. I used to think, ‘Oh, if he cannot make it, he’s probably making excuses,’ to now thinking, ‘Well, child care is really hard to come by now…’ so, it kind of has given me that perspective of trying to be more human … trying to understand people where they’re coming from, because I’m in the same position as them.”

The pandemic shift also left workers wanting more time with family or time to spend pursuing their own personal development, further prioritizing flexibility in schedules and work arrangements that would support a better work-life balance. Of the caregivers engaged in this research, many wanted time with their children to be a priority and were searching for more flexibility to allow for that. As one participant noted:

“I think money is not everything. Because there are some jobs you have money, but you don’t have time for your family. There are some jobs you have for you, you don’t have time to sit down with your children. There are some jobs you have, you don’t even have time to go to any other thing but for the job.”

Flexibility is something many of these workers said they were not afforded during the onset of the pandemic and through the economic recovery. This lack has caused them to reassess what they are looking for from a job and in many cases influenced them to transition to another job. Some were looking exclusively for remote work options, and some mentioned their desire to move into the technology field as a way to increase their job security and ensure a flexible or remote work environment. Regardless of the reason they valued flexibility, it was a key quality they sought from employment.

“I’ve seen my call center where everyone makes almost six figures or close to it or more, 500 employees, down to 100 employees that’s working from home. Because no one is secure. No one is safe at this point. And I dove into investing in myself into real estate. So I’m now a Realtor … my determination to get other avenues under my belt to make money. And now I’m currently in [a] WIOA program as a freight broker. And that’s a one-year apprenticeship. And that’s my story.”
– Worker Voices participant

Reflecting on experiences with employment at the onset of the pandemic, many workers sought to reinvent themselves through skill development and training to increase what they saw as better employment opportunities available to them. Acknowledging that focus group participants were recruited from workforce agencies, which biases our sample, many in the focus groups talked about gaining skills to secure jobs that garnered higher wages, to support transitions into what they saw as recession-proof sectors or occupations. Others shared their hopes to create opportunities for self-employment to ensure their work life more closely aligned with their definition of a quality job.

There is longstanding literature on the positive relationship between increased education and wage growth.^[62] Understanding that higher skills and education equate to wages is one thing, but actuating skill training for a worker in a low-wage job is another thing since their employment precarity and time constraints limit their ability to participate.^[63] Moreover, higher-wage employment varies based on educational attainment, and a study showed that only slightly more than 5 percent of workers in low-wage jobs found a higher paying job in 12 months.^[64]

Many participants in our study saw skill development and training as ways to embark on a new career pathway rather than ways to find a new “job.” The US Chamber of Commerce surveyed people who lost their jobs during the pandemic to surface the motivations of individuals who were still out of the labor force a year later (2021). In its May 2022 update to this survey, the Chamber found that 36 percent of respondents aged 25 to 34 were focused on skill development and training before reentering the job market, as opposed to 23 percent of their overall sample that includes workers aged 18 to 64.^[65]

“I was working in the supermarket store. I was also learning one or two IT programs like data analysis. So it helps me a lot … I have to change jobs, and for now, the pay is a little bit better just to, you know, achieve my goals and make my family comfortable just a little bit.”

Among those who actively pursued training, many engaged in upskilling with a technology or information technology focus. These participants generally felt like technology career pathways would provide greater economic stability than their prior employment experiences. They discussed how they valued the perceived work flexibility and remote work options offered by technology jobs. Some talked about technology jobs as future opportunities in the labor market that had staying power and would be good opportunities to sustain employability in the long term. One respondent mentioned:

“During the pandemic, I realized that there was the insecurity of my job … I’m trying to transition to software development. I’m going into software, going to working remotely. I feel like there’s more security in that area. So I’ve been taking some tutorials. It’s not been easy, but I’m still pushing through.”

“During all that time I was unemployed, I was only working for a few hours. Sometimes I cleaned some houses with some neighbors, or [babysat] for a few hours. I also took care of elderly people. I did some independent work because I didn’t have a job and I didn’t have any other income. That was the only way to support my family.”

Some participants aspired to self-employment as a mechanism of control and a way to ensure they had agency in their jobs, while others were already starting a business. Some mentioned that although they knew being an entrepreneur was not going to be easy, they liked the empowerment that came with it:

“I had in a sense an entrepreneur mindset … so it was during this entire pandemic, it’s just literally been me grinding and hustling and trying to make ends meet by myself. No like extra pay. So, if anything, COVID really just taught me that there’s no limitation on what I can do as far as being an entrepreneur. You just really got to have the mindset of being able to bounce back from anything.”

Others saw self-employment and entrepreneurship as a way to better their and their families’ futures. When a participant was asked why they were pursuing their bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship, they responded:

“The reason behind it is kind of because I want to create generational wealth. You know, I have a child. I don’t want him to be stuck in the loop of poverty as I grew up with. So, I want to find a path to where not only am I free to be who I am, you know, not tied to an employer, not being afraid living paycheck to paycheck but also creating an avenue to where he can actually explore himself and not be worried about those same things I was.”

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Conclusions and future research

This study also suggests shifts in worker preferences around jobs and in how workers are reinventing themselves in order to achieve stability and economic mobility. Many workers spoke to their enhanced expectations for treatment at work, including agency and dignity, better stability and safety at work, wages and compensation, and flexibility. These preferences inform worker behavior, as many participants sought to reinvent themselves through job training and skill development. Others are planning entrepreneurial endeavors and considering self-employment options to increase agency, autonomy, and flexibility, among other nonfinancial benefits. These shifts in preferences raise questions about what is needed to attract and retain talent and how this might inform future trends in worker behavior.

Considerations going forward: Worker Voices

This study raises several questions that make way for further research and inquiry related to the current and future of the US labor market as well as the future of worker expectations and preferences:

These perspectives are worth capturing and understanding with further study and continued conversations with workers, especially those in low-wage roles, to help inform long-term trends in the labor market and the effect of these trends on economic growth.

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Endnotes

[1] Ben Harris and Neil Mehrota, 2022, “Measuring the Strength of the Recovery” U.S. Department of Treasury, May 26. home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/measuring-the-strength-of-the-recovery

[2] Joseph Fuller, Christina Langer, and Matt Sigelman, 2022, “Skills-Based Hiring Is on the Rise,” Harvard Business Review, February 11. hbr.org/2022/02/skills-based-hiring-is-on-the-rise

[3] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022, “Job Openings and Labor Turnover – March 2022,” U.S. Department of Labor. bls.gov/news.release/archives/jolts_05032022.pdf

[4] Ranjay Gulati, “The Great Resignation or the Great Rethink?,” Harvard Business Review  hbr.org/2022/03/the-great-resignation-or-the-great-rethink

[5] Amory Martin, Maryia Markhvida, Stephane Hallegatte, and Brian Walsh, 2020, “Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Household Consumption and Poverty,” Economics of Disasters and Climate Change 4, 453–79. doi.org/10.1007/s41885-020-00070-3

[6] Nicole Bateman and Martha Ross, 2021, The Pandemic Hurt Low-Wage Workers the Most—and so Far, the Recovery Has Helped Them the Least, Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. brookings.edu/research/the-pandemic-hurt-low-wage-workers-the-most-and-so-far-the-recovery-has-helped-them-the-least/

[7] Heather Boushey, The Damage Done by Recessions and How to Respond, The Hamilton Project. hamiltonproject.org/papers/the_damage_done_by_recessions_and_how_to_respond; William R. Emmons and Bryan J. Noeth, 2012, “Household Financial Stability: Who Suffered the Most from the Crisis?” Regional Economist, July 1. stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/july-2012/household-financial-stability–who-suffered-the-most-from-the-crisis

[8] See, for instance, Matthew Dey, “Ability to Work from Home: Evidence from Two Surveys and Implications for the Labor Market in the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Monthly Labor Review, doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2020.14; Syed Mansoob Murshed, “Consequences of the -19 Pandemic for Economic Inequality,” COVID-19 and International Development, ; Stefanie Stantcheva, “Inequalities in the Times of a Pandemic,” Economic Policy 37109 5–41, doi.org/10.1093/epolic/eiac006; Guido Matias Cortes and Eliza Forsythe, “Heterogeneous Labor Market Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic,” ILR Review 761: 30–55, doi.org/10.1177/00197939221076856.

[9] Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, “Tracking COVID-19 Unemployment and Job Losses. cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/jobtracker/.

[10] Sang Yoon (Tim) Lee, Minsung Park, and Yongseok Shin, 2021, “Hit Harder, Recover Slower? Unequal Employment Effects of the COVID-19 Shock,” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 28354. nber.org/papers/w28354.

[11] Elise Gould and Melat Kassa, 2021, Low-Wage, Low-Hours Workers Were Hit Hardest in the COVID-19 Recession, Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute. epi.org/publication/swa-2020-employment-report/.

[12] Tyler Boesch, Ryan Nunn, and Alene Tchourumoff, Occupational Segregation Left Workers of Color Especially Vulnerable to COVID-19 Job Losses, Minneapolis: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. minneapolisfed.org/article/2022/occupational-segregation-left-workers-of-color-especially-vulnerable-to-covid-19-job-losses.

[13] Audrey Kearney and Cailey Muñana, 2020, “Taking Stock of Essential Workers,” Policy Watch. kff.org/policy-watch/taking-stock-of-essential-workers.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Hye Jin Rho, Shawn Fremstad, and Hayley Brown, 2020, A Basic Demographic Profile of Workers in Frontline Industries, Washington, D.C.: Center for Economic and Policy Research; Adie Tomer and Joseph W. Kane, 2020, To Protect Frontline Workers during and after COVID-19, We Must Define Who They Are,” Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. brookings.edu/research/to-protect-frontline-workers-during-and-after-covid-19-we-must-define-who-they-are/.

[16] Molly Kinder and Martha Ross, Reopening America: Low-Wage Workers Have Suffered Badly from COVID-19 so Policymakers Should Focus on Equity, Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. brookings.edu/research/reopening-america-low-wage-workers-have-suffered-badly-from-covid-19-so-policymakers-should-focus-on-equity/.

[17] Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom, and Davis J. Steven, “Why Working from Home Will Stick,” National Bureau of Economic ResearchWorking Paper 28731 https://doi.org/10.3386/w28731.

[18] Mary C Daly, Shelby R. Buckman, and Lily M. Seitelman, 2020, “The Unequal Impact of COVID-19: Why Education Matters,” FRBSF Economic Letter 2020–17, June 29. frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economic-letter/2020/june/unequal-impact-covid-19-why-education-matters/.

[19] Elise Gould and Jori Kandra, 2021, ”Only One in Five Workers Are Working from Home Due to COVID,”in Working Economics Blog. epi.org/blog/only-one-in-five-workers-are-working-from-home-due-to-covid-black-and-hispanic-workers-are-less-likely-to-be-able-to-telework.

[20] Ibid.

[21] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey,” U.S. Department of Labor, accessed March 30, 2023. bls.gov/jlt/data.htm

[22] Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, “Unemployment Rate (UNRATE),“ Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), accessed April 2023. fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE

[23] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate,” U.S. Department of Labor, accessed March 30, 2023. bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-labor-force-participation-rate.htm

[24] Stephanie Ferguson, 2023, Understanding America’s Labor Shortage: The Most Impacted Industries, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Chamber of Commerce. uschamber.com/workforce/understanding-americas-labor-shortage-the-most-impacted-industries

[25] Fuller, Langer, and Sigelman, “Skills-Based Hiring Is on the Rise.”

[26] Justice-impacted individuals include those who have been incarcerated or detained in a prison, an immigration detention center, a local jail, a juvenile detention center, or any other carceral setting; those who have been convicted but not incarcerated; those who have been charged but not convicted; and those who have been arrested.

[27] AnnElizabeth Konkel, 2022, Job Ads Noting Fair Chance Hiring Rise in Tight Labor Market, Austin, TX: Hiring Lab. hiringlab.org/2022/06/09/fair-chance-hiring-job-ads-rise/

[28] Elise Gould and Katherine deCourcy, 2023, State of Working America Wages 2022: Low-Wage Workers Have Seen Historically Fast Real Wage Growth in the Pandemic Business Cycle, Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute. epi.org/publication/swa-wages-2022/

[29] Rick Penn and Eric Nezamis, 2022, “Job Openings and Quits Reach Record Highs in 2021, Layoffs and Discharges Fall to Record Lows,” Monthly Labor Review (June). bls.gov/opub/mlr/2022/article/job-openings-and-quits-reach-record-highs-in-2021.htm

[30] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), retrieved from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, “Quits: Total Nonfarm (JTSQUL),“ FRED, accessed April 14, 2023. fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTSQUL

[31] Kim Parker and Juliana Menasce Horowitz, 2022, “Majority of Workers Who Quit a Job in 2021 Cite Low Pay, No Opportunities for Advancement, Feeling Disrespected,” Fact Tank (blog), March 9. pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/03/09/majority-of-workers-who-quit-a-job-in-2021-cite-low-pay-no-opportunities-for-advancement-feeling-disrespected/

[32] Lei Ding and Julieth Saenz Molina, 2020, “‘Forced Automation’ by COVID-19? Early Trends from Current Population Survey Data,” Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Discussion Paper. philadelphiafed.org/community-development/workforce-and-economic-development/forced-automation-by-covid-19

[33] Alex W. Chernoff and Casey Warman, 2020, “COVID-19 and Implications for Automation,” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 27249. nber.org/papers/w27249

[34] David L. Morgan and Richard A. Krueger, 1998, The Focus Group Guidebook, in The Focus Group Kit, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Graham R. Gibbs, 2007, Analyzing Qualitative Data, in The Sage Qualitative Research Kit, Uwe Flick, editor, London: Sage Publications.

[35] Milena Almagro, Joshua Coven, Arpit Gupta, and Angelo Orange-Hutchinson, 2020, “Racial Disparities in Frontline Workers and Housing Crowding during COVID-19: Evidence from Geolocation Data,” Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Opportunity and Growth Institute Working Paper No. 37. doi.org/10.21034/iwp.37

[36] Megan Ayala and Isabella Lucy, The Pandemic Unemployed Survey: Why Americans Are Staying Out of the Workforce, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, November 4, 2022. uschamber.com/workforce/the-pandemic-unemployed-survey-why-americans-are-staying-out-of-the-workforce.

[37] Ruth Igielnik, 2021 “A Rising Share of Working Parents in the U.S. Say It’s Been Difficult to Handle Child Care during the Pandemic,” Fact Tank (blog), January 26. pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/26/a-rising-share-of-working-parents-in-the-u-s-say-its-been-difficult-to-handle-child-care-during-the-pandemic/; Carrie Gillespie, Caitlin Codella, Aaron Merchen, Joseph Davis, Ashley Cappo, 2021, Equity in Child Care Is Everyone’s Business, Washington, D.C.: The Education Trust and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. uschamberfoundation.org/sites/default/files/Equity_ChildCare_Final_web.pdf

[38] Elliane Irani, Atsadaporn Niyomyart, and Ronald L. Hickman, 2021, “Family Caregivers’ Experiences and Changes in Caregiving Tasks During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” Clinical Nursing Research 30(7): 1088–97. doi.org/10.1177/10547738211014211

[39] Armita Kar, Andre L. Carrel, Harvey J. Miller, Huyen T.K. Lee, 2022, “Public Transit Cuts during COVID-19 Compound Social Vulnerability in 22 U.S. Cities,” Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 110: 103435. doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2022.103435

[40] Daniel Schwam, Shawn Bushway, and Jeffrey B. Wenger, 2023, “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Workers with a Criminal History,” Monthly Labor Review (January). bls.gov/opub/mlr/2023/article/the-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-workers-with-a-criminal-history.htm

[41] Julia Gelatt, 2022, Immigrant Workers: Vital to the U.S. COVID-19 Response, Disproportionately Vulnerable, Washington, D.C.: Migration Policy Institute. migrationpolicy.org/research/immigrant-workers-us-covid-19-response

[42] Lisa Schur, Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, and Douglas L. Kruse, 2021, “COVID-19 and Employment Losses for Workers with Disabilities: An Intersectional Approach,” The Center for Women and Work Working Paper. smlr.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/Documents/Centers/CWW/Publications/draft_covid19_and_disability_report.pdf

[43] Despard, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Brinda Gupta, Yung Chun, Hedwig Lee, and Mathieu. 2020. “Housing Hardships Reach Unprecedented Heights during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Brookings. June 1, 2020. brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/06/01/housing-hardships-reach-unprecedented-heights-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/

[44] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, JOLTS; Gould and DeCourcy, State of Working America, Wages 2022

[45] Rachel Pelta, 2021, “Nearly Half of Job Seekers Frustrated by Lack of Opportunities,” FlexJobs (blog), July 23. flexjobs.com/blog/post/job-seekers-frustrated-by-lack-of-opportunities/

[46] Ron Wirtz, 2023, Why Is There a Labor Shortage? Ask Workers, Minneapolis: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. minneapolisfed.org/article/2023/why-is-there-a-labor-shortage-ask-workers.

[47] Alex Domash and Lawrence H. Summers, 2022, “How Tight are U.S. Labor Markets?” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 29739. doi.org/10.3386/w29739

[48] Fuller, Langer, and Sigelman, “Skills-Based Hiring Is on the Rise.”

[49] AnnElizabeth Konkel, 2022, Job Ads Noting Fair Chance Hiring Rise in Tight Labor Market, Austin, TX: Hiring Lab.

[50] Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan, 2003, “Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination,” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 9873. doi.org/10.3386/w9873

[51] Patrick M. Kline, Evan K. Rose, and Christopher R. Walters, 2021, “Systemic Discrimination Among Large U.S. Employers,” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 29053. doi.org/10.3386/w29053

[52] Nittai Bergman, David A. Matsa, and Michael Weber, 2022, “Markets Facilitate Broad-Based Employment Growth” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 29651. www.nber.org/papers/w29651.

[53] William J. Congdon, Molly M. Scott, Batia Katz, Pamela J. Loprest, Demetra Smith Nightingale, and Jessica Shakesprere, 2020, Understanding Good Jobs: A Review of Definitions and Evidence, Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute. urban.org/research/publication/understanding-good-jobs-review-definitions-and-evidence; Aspen Institute, “Statement on Good Jobs,” The Aspen Institute, aspeninstitute.org/programs/good-jobs-champions-group/

[54] Elizabeth R. Johnson and Ashley V. Whillans, 2022, “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Satisfaction of Workers in Low-Wage Jobs,” Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 23-001.

[55] Patricia Findlay, Arne L Kalleberg, and Chris Warhurst, 2013, “The Challenge of Job Quality,” Human Relations 66(4): 441–51. doi.org/10.1177/0018726713481070

[56] Matthew Wiswall and Basit Zafar, 2018, “Preference for the Workplace, Investment in Human Capital, and Gender,” Quarterly Journal of Economics 133(1): 457–507; Alexandre Masand Amanda Pallais, 2017, “Valuing Alternative Work Arrangements,” American Economic Review 107(12): 3722–59.

[57] Daniel Schneider and Kristen Harknett, 2019, “Consequences of Routine Work-Schedule Instability for Worker Health and Well-Being,” American Sociological Review 84(1): 82–114.

[58] Jonathan Rothwell and Steve Crabtree, 2019, Not Just a Job: New Evidence on the Quality of Work in the United States, Washington, D.C.: Gallup.

[59] Arash Nekoei and Andrea Weber, 2017, “Does Extending Unemployment Benefits Improve Job Quality?” American Economic Review 107(2): 527–61. doi.org/10.1257/aer.20150528.

[60] Reuven Glick, Sylvain Leduc, and Mollie Pepper, 2022, “Will Workers Demand Cost-of-Living Adjustments?” Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter 2022-21; Òscar Jordà, Celeste Liu, Fernanda Nechio, and Fabián Rivera-Reyes, 2022, “Wage Growth When Inflation Is High,” Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter 2022-25.

[61] Fuller, Langer, and Sigelman, “Skills-Based Hiring Is on the Rise.”

[62] For a review, see David Card “The Causal Effect of Schooling on Earnings,” in Handbook of Labor Economics, Orley Ashenfelter and David Card, eds., Amsterdam: Elsevier.

[63] Victoria Smith and Brian Halpin, 2012, “Low-Wage Work Uncertainty Often Traps Low-Wage Workers,” Center for Poverty Research Policy Brief 2(9). poverty.ucdavis.edu/sites/main/files/file-attachments/smith_cpr_policy_brief_employability.pdf

[64] Todd Gabe, Jaison R. Abel, Richard Florida, 2018, “Can Low-Wage Workers Find Better Jobs?” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports No. 846, New York: Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

[65] Ayala and Lucy, The Pandemic Unemployed Survey.

[66] Erik Hurst and Benjamin Wild Pugsley, 2011, “What Do Small Businesses Do?,” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 17041. doi.org/10.3386/w17041

[67] Katharine G. Abraham and Susan N. Houseman, 2019, “The Importance of Informal Work in Supplementing Household Income,” Employment Research 26(4): 4–6.

[68] Hye Jin Rho and Shawn Fremstad, 2020, Multiple Jobholders: Who Are They and How Are They Impacted by the Pandemic? Washington, D.C.: Center for Economic and Policy Research. cepr.net/multiple-jobholders-who-are-they-and-how-are-they-impacted-by-the-pandemic/