News
Many local employers are finally looking to increase their staffing levels, and young adults are a key labor supply. While employment rates for young people are increasing, persistent inequities exist in the labor market. SummerWorks is a summer youth employment program that seeks to help address these disparities by helping Louisville Metro’s youth connect with a summer job experience.
There were more than 30,000 individuals out of work but actively seeking work within the Louisville region in March. Even so, we are hearing from employers that they are unable to fill open positions and are scrambling to find workers. What is causing the disconnect between the unemployed and available job openings?
The economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has reverberated throughout the world. The Louisville region’s economy has also suffered as people and businesses reacted to the public health crisis.
In this post, we review the data from throughout 2020 to see the economic impact in the local economy. The recovery since the depths of the pandemic has been uneven across sectors and unequal for different workers.
Research suggests that the rate of automation is accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Why? Which local sectors were already investing the most in advanced technologies? And importantly, what skills will workers need to succeed in a more automated post-COVID economy? Find out in our latest article.
Workers in low-wage jobs often do not earn enough to make ends meet. As a result, many workers in low-wage jobs rely on work supports to help them cover the costs of living, such as food, stable housing, healthcare, and childcare. Low-wage workers face trade-offs as they pursue career advancement, because earning more in income can mean losing access to work supports. A new tool shows the net result workers face when they earn more but become ineligible for public assistance programs in the process. These cliff effects might prevent workers in low-wage jobs from taking advantage of career advancement because of a very rational decision- they would ultimately have fewer resources to provide for their family.
