The authors of these five essays explore the extent to which young people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds achieve steady, decent-paying employment by their early thirties. Using multivariate analysis, they identify factors predicting membership to four different earnings groups. Factors associated with membership in one or both of the higher-earning groups include higher education, military service, union membership, job-related training, and working in a non-service sector occupation at age 25. Factors associated with belonging to a lower-earning group include incarceration, work-limiting health conditions, and prolonged unemployment.

Through an analysis of the largest public datasets on U.S. occupational roles, skills, wages, and workers, this report discusses research findings of a study which identifies a talent pool of 71 million workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs). Its findings conclude that low-wage does not equate to low skill, STARs represent a vast overlooked pool of talent, and STARs have different trajectories to increase wages.

This white paper highlights several important trends in the labor market that continue to affect the nature of work. Based on these trends, it presents potential research topics in program areas that include job search and career counseling, education and training, and support for workers who have lost their jobs or work outside the traditional employer-employee model.

According to Gallup, the gig labor economy is different from the traditional full-time job market in that it includes independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-call workers and temporary workers. This article briefly answers the following questions about the gig economy: What is the gig economy? How popular is the gig economy? Why is gig work trending? Will the gig economy grow? How does the gig economy benefit employers?

Stable employment helps build a solid foundation for youth as they enter adulthood. Some youth involved in the justice system—especially for serious offenses—may face increased barriers to finding and securing employment. This blogpost features the results from a national scan of workforce programs that identify strategies that may help overcome these challenges. The research identifies common features of quality community-based workforce development programs that serve youth and young adults with criminal or juvenile records. The scan also notes common program offerings, promising practices, and marks of a supportive infrastructure. The information collected helps identify the kinds of organizational structures, partnerships and collaboration that are essential to helping young people with records succeed in the workforce.

Drawing on the partnership experience between Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Employment Development, MOED’s Workforce Reception Center, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Mathematica, this brief describes lessons learned and potential strategies that technical assistance providers can use to encourage successful public-private partnerships, as well as highlights considerations for funders of similar initiatives. This 5-page brief is for foundations or other private organizations that provide technical assistance to programs as they make changes to their program. Mathematica and MOED developed this brief with support from the Administration for Children and Families and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

This brief captures staff experiences, successes, lessons learned, and recommendations from designing and implementing a transitional jobs program called Baltimore Health Corps (BHC). Designed by the Mayor’s Office for Employment Development (MOED), Baltimore City Health Department, and other community partners, BHC is a transitional jobs program for unemployed and underemployed city residents in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. This 5-page brief is for leaders and frontline staff who are thinking about or implementing a program change and want to draw inspiration and lessons from the successes and challenges of other programs. Mathematica and MOED developed this brief under Project IMPROVE through the Office of Family Assistance, and with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Understanding and Addressing Executive Functioning in TANF Participants (Webinar)

Helping TANF Clients Achieve Long-Term Goals Virtual Meetings

This scan describes recent and long-term economic and policy developments with relevance for the public workforce system. It focuses primarily on topics and trends related to the changing world of work and their implications for the public workforce system. Topics include broad economic trends and recent changes in employment and wages; changes to industries and occupations due to technology, automation, and the rise of the gig economy; growth in remote workforce system services; and Federal policy trends related to the public workforce system.