In October 2023, the Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion featured presenters who shared insights on employer practices that consider the mental health and well-being of youth who are transitioning to the workforce, with a particular focus on youth of color. The webinar was intended to help employers understand the importance of mental health and trauma-informed practices in relation to their talent acquisition and workforce retention processes.

Owning a small business that employs others or being self-employed is an important avenue to economic empowerment for many people. This is particularly true for people with disabilities who may benefit from greater access, freedom and flexibility at work. This Department of Labor resource compares new Annual Business Survey data with existing statistics from the Current Population Survey, the primary source of labor-force statistics in the United States. This resource includes analysis of disabled business owners and self-employed workers to investigate differences by industry and age and trace changes over time.

A job can have a profound effect on someone’s well-being. A good job creates financial stability, can make a person feel more secure, and help them plan for the future. And when workers have a voice and opportunities to learn and grow, good jobs promote a sense of belonging. In May of 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) launched a new webpage devoted to young people’s mental health needs. This webpage emphasizes that the workforce system is an important partner in supporting the mental health of young people, and that good jobs are a critical component of well-being and security. The DOL is committed to equipping the workforce system with resources and connections to ensure that youth employment programs are a bridge to the wellness services young people need.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) case managers monitor compliance with program rules and can offer participants job search assistance and link them to other services to support employment. Recently, interest has grown among policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in offering employment coaching to TANF participants rather than traditional case management. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief focuses on lessons learned from an evaluation of the implementation of two employment coaching programs that served only families receiving TANF benefits: Family Development and Self-Sufficiency in Iowa and Goal4 It!TM in Colorado.

Interest in artificial intelligence (AI) is increasing, and resources highlighting use cases for generative AI tools appear to abound for learners, educators, and employers. However, new research found a lack of similar resources for workforce development. Training providers, public workforce boards, and organizations that provide career navigation services to jobseekers are searching for ideas on how to use generative AI to support people in their searches for quality jobs. This Jobs for the Future resource highlights current and potential uses for generative AI in workforce development and identifies existing tools and market opportunities.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief summarizes evidence from the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse about interventions that provide occupational and sectoral training. The strategies are useful for helping people with low incomes improve employment and earnings outcomes. Occupational and sectoral training is defined as training designed to prepare clients for professional opportunities within a specific occupation, such as truck driving or welding, or a specific sector, such as health care or manufacturing. Occupational and sectoral training is often provided in fields that are growing or in high demand. In addition to providing classroom or practical instruction in occupational or sectoral skills, these interventions often match clients with a case manager and a job developer.

This Mathematica brief describes the activities of the Mississippi Action Learning Network (MALN) from May 2022 to December 2023 and includes takeaways related to how facilitators planned and facilitated meetings, meeting attendance, how sharing and learning occurred, what participants learned and collaboration examples, and progress the group made towards its goals. MALN is a Mississippi state initiative where leaders share and learn best practices, innovations, and solutions for improving economic mobility.

Just Science hosted a Human Trafficking Policy and Research Analyses Project mini season and sat down with RTI International in episode two of the podcast to discuss a project which focuses on economic empowerment for those who have experienced human trafficking. For those who have experienced human trafficking, economic or financial consequences are often inextricably linked to their trafficking experience and may leave those people without the skills, resources, or social capital to meet their needs in the community. As part of the project, researchers are developing a guide to help service providers understand fundamentals and important considerations of implementing economic empowerment programs for people who have experienced human trafficking, including programming related to financial education, financial abuse, and supporting employment. This podcast episode describes promising practices related to economic empowerment programming for people who have experienced human trafficking, the experience of incorporating trauma-informed practices in human trafficking research, and recommendations for other researchers interested in this work.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides a safety net for millions of young adults with significant disabilities. Although most SSI participants do not work, many want to do so, potentially because working can provide a substantially higher income than SSI participation and improve quality of life. Policy analysts have speculated that efforts to help these individuals firmly establish themselves in the labor force before they apply for SSI might succeed. However, providing vocational services to people before they apply for SSI is challenging because it requires identifying in advance those who are likely to apply for SSI later. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report aims to inform those who study or develop programs offering employment services to young adults who are potential SSI participants. Employment and other programs seeking to effectively support potential SSI applicants could consider using the findings to improve their outreach and intake screening processes.

Hundreds of local labor markets fuel the American economy, and each one is driven by the needs of the local area’s mix of industries and the skills of its workers. When these needs and skills align, everyone can benefit. But many local economies are struggling to achieve strong alignment between the demand for middle-skills credentials (certificates and associate’s degrees) and the supply of these credentials produced by local institutions. This Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce resource consists of a full report and a data tool, both of which demonstrate that in half of the nation’s labor markets, at least 50 percent of all middle-skills credentials would need to be granted in different fields of study to meet projected labor demand through 2031. The report focuses on the great misalignment between middle-skills education and training, and middle-skills jobs—and what stakeholders can do to address it.