News
The role of child care in the labor force participation rate among women
Research shows that mothers of young children accounted for nearly a quarter of the unanticipated employment loss related to COVID-19. Access to affordable, reliable child care was a challenge before the pandemic, and has only gotten worse since. The low-wage-work/high-cost-service conundrum of the child care sector has led the Treasury Department to deem the industry a market failure. This implies a need for public sector support, and given the impact to businesses in need of a labor supply, also suggests a role for employers to step in.
How to improve Kentucky's low labor force participation rate and why changes to UI benefits are not the answer
Given the tight labor market we are currently experiencing, the labor force participation rate is receiving a lot of attention. Recently, Kentucky legislators have made changes to the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) benefit program to address the low labor force participation in the state. However, changes to UI eligibility is unlikely to have any significant change on the state’s labor force participation rate. Policies targeting child care and economic opportunity for individuals with a disability and older workers are the main instruments for improving the state’s labor force participation rate.
The Louisville region ends 2021 in one of the tightest labor markets ever recorded
Like the rest of the nation, the Louisville region is experiencing a very tight labor market. The unemployment rate is near record lows, and average wages are increasing. But with inflation on the rise, workers are not feeling the full benefits of wage increases. In this rare shift toward worker power, employees are able to voluntarily leave their current position and seek out new and better working conditions.
Expanded UI benefits have ended. What does this mean for Kentucky?
As supplemental pandemic unemployment insurance benefits end this Labor Day, thousands of Kentuckians will lose access to UI benefits. Research that compares economic outcomes for states that withdrew early from the program reveals the impacts we can expect in the Commonwealth and across the US.
Spotlight on the construction industry
The construction sector is among the Louisville region’s 10 largest industries, and critical to building and maintaining homes, roads, and other structures. In this post, we take a look at the construction industry overall, how it has fared during the pandemic recession, and what kinds of jobs are in demand.