Extreme Heat at Work Report
This report by Urban Institute researchers offers the first nationally representative estimates of how outdoor and indoor workers are affected by extreme heat.
Read the full report
This report by Urban Institute researchers offers the first nationally representative estimates of how outdoor and indoor workers are affected by extreme heat.
Grantmaking and Partnerships
Led by a cross-sector Leadership Board that is ideologically diverse and representative of often-siloed groups, WorkRise invests in research on policies, programs, and practices that have the potential to accelerate economic security and mobility for low-wage workers. We fund analyses and the creation of data that shed light on labor market barriers, trends, and opportunities. And we engage in strategic partnerships that help advance evidence-based solutions in support of our mission. Learn more about our most recent request for proposals and how you can collaborate with WorkRise.
The Latest
Skills and training
Last updated on June 18, 2024How to Expand Access to Good Clean Energy Jobs among Women and People of Color
New research shows women and people of color are underrepresented in the potential workforce for high-quality clean energy jobs. Universities, employers, and unions can play a role in creating a more diverse workforce.
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Skills and training
Last updated on June 04, 2024WorkRise Shorts: Applying AI to Rebuild Middle Class Jobs with David Autor
Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor David Autor asks what artificial intelligence could enable people to do and who could be enabled by this tool.
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Economic context
Last updated on June 11, 2024Better Local Labor Market Conditions Can Help Reduce the Risk of Reincarceration in the United States
Formerly incarcerated people who face better local labor market conditions when they are released from prison are estimated to face lower likelihoods of being reincarcerated.
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The Latest
Skills and training
January 16, 2024
Research Summary
Are community college students prepared for tomorrow’s labor market?
Community colleges have been tasked with a major responsibility—to train and support socioeconomic mobility and serve their local communities—without sufficient funding to back it up. This study takes a deeper look at the relationship between community college programs and employment needs to better understand how well these institutions prepare students for in-demand occupations.
Social determinants of work
January 09, 2024
Research Summary
Less Money, More Problems: Financial Stress and Psychological Harm among Vulnerable Workers
A recent study finds that those who are low income or unemployed are among groups more susceptible to financial stress and psychological harm. Workers who are already disadvantaged in the labor market—such as those who are women and/or less educated—are likely to have even higher psychological distress when faced with economic concerns.
Research
Employer practices
Report
July 01, 2021
Skills, Degrees, and Labor Market Inequality
In a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, researchers demonstrate that workers with college degrees have dramatically better access to higher-wage occupations where the skill requirements exceed the workers’ observed skill compared to workers without degrees.
Grantee Research
Employer practices
Brief
October 07, 2020
The Challenge of Slow Wage Growth
Because of sluggish wage growth, middle- and low-wage workers in the United States are today doing little better in real terms than similarly situated workers 40 years ago, exacerbating economic burdens experienced by workers during the current COVID-19 crisis. This brief examines the evidence on wage growth for the typical worker over several decades and concludes that efforts to rebuild the U.S. labor market must include policies to accelerate wage growth.
WorkRise Research
Economic context
Brief
September 28, 2020
Racial Inequality in the Labor Market and Employment Opportunities
This brief explores the persistent inequities and disparities in outcomes experienced by people of color in the U.S. labor market through key data points, delves into root causes based on a review of the evidence, and identifies key gaps in our knowledge of why and how labor market inequality endures.
WorkRise Research
Economic context
Brief
September 16, 2020
Five Lessons from Last Decade's Employment Recovery
The employment recovery from the Great Recession offers five key lessons for policymakers, employers, and other decisionmakers as they face the employment crisis created by Covid-19.
WorkRise Research