Financial Crisis and Increase in Income Inequality Across Cities

This paper investigates why the level of income inequality differs across U.S. cities. We also explore why some cities experienced faster increases in the level of inequality than others. Using the Decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS) from 1980 to 2011, we explore whether the disparities in the level and the changes in the level of inequality can be explained by MSA characteristics, including labor market conditions, skill distribution, residential mobility, racial concentration, industrial composition and unionization. We also examine how state level policies such as unemployment insurance benefits and minimum wage level is associated with income inequality.

Our findings shows that negative labor market conditions, concentration of skilled workers and racial segregation are positively associated with the level of income inequality. The level of inequality in these cities also tends to rise grow at a faster pace. While the minimum wage do not seem to have any association with income inequality, we find some evidence that the unemployment insurance benefit and percent of union members lower the increase in the income inequality.

Source: Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management

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Closing the Race Gap: Alleviating Young African American Unemployment Through Education

From the description:

While the Great Recession continues to have ripple effects on our entire generation, young African Americans face unemployment rates that are twice that of their white peers. Closing the Race Gap takes an unprecedented look at the driving forces behind racial disparities in the job market, and how higher education can help fight joblessness.

Source: YoungInvincibles.org [via the Washington Post]

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Read article from the Washington Post: The economy’s troubling double standard for black men

The New Scarlet Letter? Negotiating the U.S. Labor Market with a Criminal Record

In 2011, nearly 700,000 people were released from either a state or federal prison. These releases added to the roughly six million adults who have served prison time in the past. Many will experience a host of difficulties upon reentering noninstitutional society. Those with minor children (especially incarcerated men) often accumulate substantial back child-support obligations while incarcerated and face the legal requirement to pay down the balance. Many face precarious housing situations and a high risk of homelessness following release. Most have little in the way of assets and receive a very small amount of “gate money” upon release, usually no more than a few hundred dollars. Many will be returned to custody for either parole violations or a new felony offense.

In light of these problems and the sheer number of individuals released from our prisons each year, policymakers at all levels of government are increasingly focused on how to foster and support the successful reentry of former prison inmates. For a myriad of reasons, stable employment is of central importance to the successful reentry of former inmates into noninstitutionalized society. 

Source: Upjohn Institute for Employment Research

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Labor Force Characteristics of Foreign-born Workers

Introduction:

The unemployment rate for the foreign born in the United States was 6.9 percent in 2013, down from 8.1 percent in 2012, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The jobless rate for the native born fell to 7.5 percent in 2013, also down from 8.1 percent in the prior year. 

Data on nativity are collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of approximately 60,000 households. The foreign born are those who reside in the United States but who were born outside the country or one of its outlying areas to parents who were not U.S. citizens. The foreign born include legally-admitted immigrants, refugees, temporary residents such as students and temporary workers, and undocumented immigrants. The survey data, however, do not separately identify the numbers of persons in these categories. For further information about the survey, see the Technical Note.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Big Five Personality Traits Reflected in Job Applicants' Social Media Postings

Abstract:

Job applicants and incumbents often use social media for personal communications allowing for direct observation of their social communications “unfiltered” for employer consumption. As such, these data offer a glimpse of employees in settings free from the impression management pressures present during evaluations conducted for applicant screening and research purposes. This study investigated whether job applicants' (N=175) personality characteristics are reflected in the content of their social media postings. Participant self-reported social media content related to (a) photos and text-based references to alcohol and drug use and (b) criticisms of superiors and peers (so-called “badmouthing” behavior) were compared to traditional personality assessments. Results indicated that extraverted candidates were prone to postings related to alcohol and drugs. Those low in agreeableness were particularly likely to engage in online badmouthing behaviors. Evidence concerning the relationships between conscientiousness and the outcomes of interest was mixed.

Source: Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

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The Long-Term Unemployed in the Wake of the Great Recession

Abstract:

Using the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey, this brief outlines the demographic and economic characteristics of the long-term unemployed and compares them with their short-term unemployed counterparts. It also describes changes in the composition of the long-term unemployed since the start of the Great Recession. Author Andrew Schaefer reports that the percentage of unemployed workers who were seeking employment for more than six months more than doubled between 2007 and 2013 from 18.4 percent to 39.3 percent and that the long-term unemployed are more likely than the short-term unemployed to live in urban areas. In addition, the urban long-term unemployed are more likely to be older, but less likely to be poor than their rural counterparts. He concludes that, as debate about the extension of Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits continues, it is important to gain an understanding of the long-term unemployed in terms of their demographic and economic characteristics and how those characteristics differ across place in order to help better target strategies for alleviating the negative effects of long-term unemployment.

Source: Carsey Institute, University of New Hampshire

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The danger of high home ownership: greater unemployment

Description:

On the basis of evidence from the United States and Europe, the authors maintain that high home ownership is a major reason for the high unemployment rates of the industrialized nations in the post-war era. They argue that governments should encourage more renting, as the Swiss and Germans do, and they should not give financial incentives for ownership.

Source: Chatman House / Competitive advange in the global economy

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One in Seven: Ranking Youth Disconnection in the 25 Largest Metro Areas

From the Press Release:

The report examines 16- to 24-year-olds who are not in school and not working—5.8 million youth or an astonishing one in seven young people nationwide—and reveals startling gaps among neighborhoods, cities, and racial and ethnic groups. While the Boston metro area tops the list with the lowest overall rate of youth disconnection at 9%, Phoenix ranks last at 18.8%. African Americans have the highest rate of youth disconnection, a startling 22.5%, nearly twice the national average, and women generally fare better than men.

Source: Measure of America, SSRC

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Surveying the talent paradox from an employee perspective

From the Introduction:

The economic turbulence of the past few years has created a talent paradox: amid stubbornly high unemployment, employers still face challenges filling technical and skilled jobs. Employers now need to adjust their talent management initiatives to focus on retaining employees with critical skills who are at a high risk of departure and the capable leaders who can advance their companies amidst continuing global economic turbulence.
To help employers gain a better understanding of the latest employee attitudes and emerging talent trends, Deloitte Consulting LLP teamed with Forbes Insights to survey 560 employees across virtually every major industry and global region.

 Source: Deloitte

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