Unemployment rate is higher than officially recorded, more so for women and certain other groups
The official U.S. unemployment rate understated the situation for women, Asian Americans, immigrants and workers without a bachelor’s degree.
Rakesh Kochhar is a senior researcher at Pew Research Center. He is an expert on trends in employment, income and wealth. His research has focused on the American and global middle classes and the economic well-being of white, black, Hispanic, Asian and immigrant workers. Prior to joining Pew Research Center, he was senior economist at Joel Popkin and Company, where he served as a consultant to government agencies, private firms, international agencies and labor unions. Kochhar received his doctorate in economics from Brown University. He has appeared on numerous media outlets, including NPR, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. He has testified before Congress and regularly speaks at professional, academic and business conferences.
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Unemployment rose higher in three months of COVID-19 than it did in two years of the Great Recession
The experiences of several groups of workers in the COVID-19 outbreak vary notably from how they experienced the Great Recession.
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Hispanic women, immigrants, young adults, those with less education hit hardest by COVID-19 job losses
The drop in employment in three months of the COVID-19 recession is more than double the drop effected by the Great Recession over two years.
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Telework may save U.S. jobs in COVID-19 downturn, especially among college graduates
90% of the decrease in employment between February and March arose from positions that could not be teleworked.
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The financial risk to U.S. business owners posed by COVID-19 outbreak varies by demographic group
More than four-in-ten U.S. businesses with paid employees are in industries likely to be financially affected more deeply by the outbreak.
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Young workers likely to be hard hit as COVID-19 strikes a blow to restaurants and other service sector jobs
Nearly one-in-four U.S. workers are employed in the industries most likely to feel an immediate impact from the COVID-19 outbreak.
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New, emerging jobs and the green economy are boosting demand for analytical skills
New and emerging occupations are raising the importance of analytical skills, such as science, mathematics and programming.
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Key findings on gains made by women amid a rising demand for skilled workers
There is a growing need for high-skill workers in the U.S., and this has helped to narrow gender disparities in the labor market.
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Women Make Gains in the Workplace Amid a Rising Demand for Skilled Workers
The gender wage gap narrows as women move into high-skill jobs and acquire more education. Women are now in the majority in jobs that draw most heavily on either social or fundamental skills.
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Most Americans Say There Is Too Much Economic Inequality in the U.S., but Fewer Than Half Call It a Top Priority
About six-in-ten U.S. adults say there’s too much economic inequality in the country these days, and among that group, most say addressing it requires significant changes to the country’s economic system, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
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