Worker Perspectives
-
How the Fed goes beyond the data to try to make the economy work for everyone
Utilizing qualitative data from various sources helps paint a comprehensive picture of economic well-being and guides policy discussions at the Federal Reserve. Amidst uncertainties, staying connected to the pulse of real-world experiences remains key.
-
Worker Voices Special Brief: Self-Employment, Dreams Versus Reality
Worker Voices participants described weighing the tradeoffs of self-employment from the independence it gave to its income generation potential. This research found that participants were pushed or pulled into self-employment for a variety of factors and their experiences did not align with their expectations of this work.
-
Worker Voices Special Brief: Pursuing Advancement through Personal Investment
Worker Voices participants described their persistence in taking steps to improve their employment outcomes. They pursued skill-building opportunities and were more willing to leave lower-quality jobs, sometimes to pursue self-employment instead. However, their efforts were met with mixed results.
-
Worker Voices Special Brief: Barriers to Employment
Worker Voices participants described the challenges facing individuals without a four-year degree as they navigated the job market during a global pandemic. Common barriers to work included an evolving labor market, individual attributes, work-family conflicts, and concerns regarding individual well-being.
-
‘We’re looking for a place where we belong’: What we learned from talking to workers
As we think of ways to build the strong economy of tomorrow, we cannot afford to leave workers without a four-year degree, and their enormous potential, on the sidelines. “I […]
-
Worker Voices Special Brief: Perspectives on Job Quality
For Worker Voices participants, a quality job checks five boxes. Workers with a quality job are adequately compensated, treated well, secure in their position, given flexibility around hours and location, and engaged with the work.
-
![[Watch] Shifting Perspectives and Expectations on Employment](https://fedcommunities.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/workervoices-connecting-communities.png?w=1024)
[Watch] Shifting Perspectives and Expectations on Employment
What do workers expect of job quality? How are they using skill development and self-investment to change their economic opportunities? Here’s what recent research tells us. Watch or listen on demand.
-
Navigating a changing economy requires resources, data, ideas—and listening
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: Shifting Perspectives and Expectations on Employment
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: Shifting Perspectives and Expectations on Employment—Executive Summary
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.