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COVID-19 RESOURCES AND INFORMATION: See the Atlanta Fed's list of publications, information, and resources; listen to our Pandemic Response webinar series.

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Aug 24, 2020

Service Providers to Low-Income Communities Face Challenges of Their Own

Low-income individuals and communities are feeling the brunt of job losses due to the pandemic. At the same time, organizations providing support services to that population are facing their own challenges. Partners Update explores southeastern organizations’ sentiments from a national survey.

May 13, 2020

Amid the COVID-19 Crisis, a Tale of Two Southeastern Cities

Congress passed the CARES Act and other legislation to help workers who have lost their jobs during the pandemic. Partners Update considers a case study of a hypothetical laid-off restaurant worker in Birmingham and Miami and the potential financial assistance he'd receive in each city.

Sep 04, 2019

A Fresh Look at Opportunity Occupations

The Center for Workforce and Economic Opportunity has updated its Opportunity Occupations Monitor data tool, which tracks trends in opportunity employment across the country. Partners Update discusses the tool's new features.

Dec 14, 2018

Wage Growth Tracker

Measure of the wage growth of individuals. It is constructed using microdata from the Current Population Survey (CPS), and is the median percent change in the hourly wage of individuals observed 12 months apart.

Mar 22, 2018

How Do Firms Respond to Hiring Difficulties?

Two-thirds of firms polled in the Fed's 2017 Small Business Credit Survey have had trouble hiring over the past year. A new discussion paper investigates how firms use compensation, training, and job restructuring to respond.

Nov 08, 2017

Opportunity Occupations: Well-Paying Jobs for Middle-Skill Workers

What opportunities and decent-paying jobs exist for workers who don't have a college degree? This article gives an overview of recent Fed research on the topic.

Jun 22, 2017

An Eye on the Future: A Discussion about the Long-term Care Insurance Market

The Economy Matters podcast talks to Atlanta Fed economists about the long-term care insurance market. podcast

Jun 02, 2017

Beige Book: Labor Market Tightness Reaching Entry-Level Jobs

Atlanta Fed business contacts have a mostly positive outlook on economic growth in the region. Economy Matters summarizes the part of the Beige Book reporting on economic conditions in the Southeast.

May 24, 2017

The Wherefores and Whys of Wages

After an extended period of relative stagnation, wages have been showing signs of growth. This episode of the Economy Matters podcast discusses recent wage trends and how the Atlanta Fed views wage behavior. podcast

Apr 19, 2017

Beige Book Finds Optimism, Ongoing Hiring Challenges

Economy Matters article offers highlights of the Atlanta Fed’s portion of the Beige Book.

Apr 13, 2017

Identifying Opportunity Occupations in the Southeast Adobe PDF file format

The brochure examines the types and share of opportunity occupations—jobs for middle-skill workers that pay at or above the national median wage—in all Sixth District states. It also depicts returns to education across the Southeast.

Apr 13, 2017

Where Will Opportunity Knock? A Discussion of Opportunity Occupations

In an era when education's importance in the employment sector has steadily increased, what role do well-paying jobs that don't require a college degree play? An episode of the Economy Matters podcast talks to some Atlanta Fed experts. podcast

Apr 11, 2017

Labor Market Distributions Spider Chart

The Labor Market Distributions Spider Chart is designed to allow monitoring of broad labor market developments by comparing current conditions to those in up to two earlier time periods that the user selects.

Feb 07, 2017

eBook: Developing Career-Based Training

This eBook examines various approaches to establishing technical and career-based training and the importance of building out the skills needed for the workforce in today's increasingly complex and rapidly changing global economy.

Jan 25, 2017

Uneven Opportunity: Exploring Employers' Educational Preferences for Middle-Skills Jobs Adobe PDF file format

The Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Philadelphia investigate the factors that contribute to employer requirements of a bachelor's degree for four key opportunity occupations.

Jan 25, 2017

Uneven Opportunity: Variation in Employers' Educational Preferences for Middle-Skills Jobs

New Philadelphia and Atlanta Fed research explores why employer preferences for bachelor's degrees for the most prevalent opportunity occupations differ significantly between metro areas. Partners Update summarizes the findings.

May 12, 2016

The Developing State of Workforce Development

An evolving economy demands workers with evolving skill sets, and training employees to meet new employment demands is an ongoing challenge. The episode discusses trends in workforce development in the Southeast as well as nationally.

Mar 01, 2016

eBook: Models for Labor Market Intermediaries

This eBook explores the role of community and economic development organizations in workforce development and the importance of fostering and facilitating partnerships to address local workforce challenges.

Sep 09, 2015

Identifying Opportunity Occupations in the Nation's Largest Metropolitan Economies

The report identifies good-paying jobs in the 100 largest U.S. metro areas for workers who have less than a four-year college degree. The Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Cleveland, and Philadelphia collaborated on the findings. Full report Adobe PDF file format  (8 MB) | Infographic Adobe PDF file format (392 KB)

Jun 15, 2015

Transforming U.S. Workforce Development Policies for the 21st CenturyOff-site link

The book explores how new policies and practice can meet the changing needs of workers, businesses, and their communities. The Atlanta and Kansas City Feds and Rutgers' Heldrich Center for Workforce Development collaborated on the book, which has contributions from over 65 leading scholars and practitioners engaged in workforce development.

Feb 24, 2015

The Soft Skills Gap

In listening sessions with the Atlanta Fed, workforce training providers noted the lack of soft skills in some workers. Those skills can be roughly divided into essential and workplace skills, and this Partners Update article discusses each set of skills.

Sep 29, 2014

Microenterprises Raise the Floor and Build a Ladder

One outcome of the recent recession is that rural poverty rates are the highest since the mid-1980s. Mil Duncan, founding director of the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute, discusses the issues facing the rural poor in an Economic Development podcast episode. podcast

Dec 30, 2013

Small Business and the Modern Workplace

What are the challenges facing small business after the Great Recession? Ty Barksdale of Sutton Bank and Jake Rouch of Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership describe demands of the current workplace, including that workers be adaptable, collaborative, agile, and entrepreneurial.

Mar 21, 2012

Can the Jobs Gap Be Filled through Temporary Public-sector Positions?

Philip Harvey, professor of law and economics at Rutgers University, discusses how his proposed direct job creation program would create temporary public-sector jobs, and in the process, help reduce unemployment.

Jan 25, 2012

Trash to Treasure: Turning Waste into Jobs

Instead of sending waste to landfills, a municipal approach that prioritizes the reuse, recycling, and remanufacture of materials can provide a range of new jobs. Georgia Tech's Nancey Green Leigh discusses how to create jobs from the waste diversion process.

Jan 25, 2012

Retrofitting Institutions: Feeding Job Growth with Energy Hogs

Satya Rhodes-Conway and James Irwin, senior associates at the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, discuss how retrofitting public and institutional buildings spurs job creation in the real estate sector while reducing building operating costs.

Dec 16, 2011

The Doctor Is In: Economic Development Strategies in Health Care

The health care sector has been an important source of new jobs in this economy. Dr. Ricardo Azziz, president of Georgia Health Sciences University, discusses the importance of the sector to the economic well-being of communities and how its growth can help catalyze economic development.

Jun 17, 2011

Self-employment as Economic Development Strategy: What Does It Mean For Metro and Nonmetro Counties in the Southeastern United States?

New research suggests that self-employment is becoming an important solution to unemployment in the Southeast, especially in rural areas. But why are there different outcomes for urban and rural areas? And what are the implications for economic developers and policymakers?

May 18, 2011

New Economy, New Roles: Economic Development Organizations and Jobs

Economic development organizations must develop and execute job creation programs in today's difficult economy, even as their budgets are reduced. Denny Coleman, president and CEO of the St. Louis County Economic Council, discusses how local organizations can still add to the quantity and quality of local jobs.

May 04, 2011

Not Your Father's Factory Job: Manufacturing and Economic Development

Jay Moon, president and CEO of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, discusses the increasingly technical and specialized skills needed to support advanced manufacturing. These skills, he says, are creating a greater focus on working with business, industry, and educational partners to develop a better-skilled workforce.

Apr 25, 2011

Small Things Really Matter: The Important Role of Microenterprise in Job Creation

Microenterprises, which employ about 20 percent of the U.S. private-sector workforce, have been especially important since the recent recession. Connie Evans, president and CEO of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, discusses how economic developers can grow local jobs by supporting microenterprises.

Apr 13, 2011

The Job Hunt: New Clues for Small Business Job Creation

Newly available data provide fresh insights into employment in the small business sector. Brian Headd, economist in the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, explores the changing relationship of small business to jobs.

Jan 21, 2011

Who Will Treat the Sick? Emerging Trends in the Hospital Based Workforce

Hospitals and their satellite operations are facing human capital frictions as the public demands the latest treatments in the most upgraded facilities and as they prepare to respond to new legislation. Dr. Stephen Newman, chief operating officer with Tenet Healthcare Corp., discusses these workforce challenges and opportunities.

Dec 10, 2010

Fact or Fallacy: Can Self Employment Improve Economic Opportunities for Low Skilled Workers?

For some low-skilled workers, self-employment appears to be the best opportunity to improve their earnings, but is it? Dr. Magnus Lofstrom, research fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California, discusses whether self-employment improves the earning power of low-skilled workers as well as economic development policies that local and state governments could consider to help this vulnerable population.