Heldrich Center

Washington Post Examines New Jersey’s Unemployment Insurance Modernization

heldrich_robb — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 13:12:38 +0000

Washington Post Examines New Jersey’s Unemployment Insurance Modernization

Published Date

June 15, 2023

heldrich_robb Thu, 06/15/2023 - 13:12

Type

Press Coverage

Topic

Unemployment Insurance

Media Outlet

The Washington Post

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A recent article in The Washington Post previews a forthcoming report from Heldrich Center visiting non-resident scholar Michele Evermore about New Jersey’s efforts to improve the experience of individuals filing Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims. The Heldrich Center recently hosted a virtual forum that examined New Jersey’s efforts to overhaul its UI system. Materials from the forum will be released on the center’s website in the coming weeks.

Tagline

Article examines New Jersey's efforts to moderize its Unemployment Insurance system.

Quincy Interviewed on NJ Spotlight News

heldrich_robb — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 12:47:11 +0000

Quincy Interviewed on NJ Spotlight News

Published Date

August 31, 2023

heldrich_robb Thu, 08/31/2023 - 12:47

Type

Press Coverage

Topic

workplace discrimination

Related Experts

Ronald Quincy, Ph.D.

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Dr. Ronald Quincy, Senior Fellow for Diversity Studies at the Heldrich Center, recently appeared on NJ Spotlight News where he was interviewed by anchor Briana Vannozzi about the Heldrich Center’s research study, A Workplace Divided in 2023. Watch his interview. Also, be sure to check out the study’s project page, where you can access the study’s research products and findings.

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Dr. Ronald Quincy discusses new research study, A Workplace Divided in 2023.

Van Horn Quoted in Newsweek

heldrich_robb — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 16:50:41 +0000

Van Horn Quoted in Newsweek

Published Date

October 6, 2023

heldrich_robb Fri, 10/06/2023 - 16:50

Type

Press Coverage

Media Outlet

Newsweek

Related Experts

Carl E. Van Horn, Ph.D.

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Carl Van Horn is quoted in a new article in Newsweek titled, “Americans Quitting Jobs Even as Savings Dry Up, Debt Grows.” He addresses the causes behind the trend in workers quitting their jobs for better and more flexible career opportunities. Read the article.

Van Horn is Director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development and a Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at Rutgers University.

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Carl Van Horn is quoted in a new article in Newsweek.

Summer 2023 State Data Policy Internship Research

heldrich_robb — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 14:35:01 +0000

Summer 2023 State Data Policy Internship Research

Published Date

December 18, 2023

heldrich_robb Mon, 12/18/2023 - 14:35

Type

Announcement

Topic

Data Analysis

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by Ahmad Salman Zafar

The Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, which administers the New Jersey Statewide Data System (NJSDS), held its State Data Policy Internship program in summer 2023. Three graduate students were selected for the program and completed training on project scoping and data analytics using NJSDS. This year’s summer interns were:

Darshan Senthil - Master of Science in Computer Science, Rutgers University
Akash Shanmugam - Master of Information Technology and Analytics, Rutgers University
Sasya Thanhallapally - Master of Science in Information Technology, Arizona State University

The Heldrich Center crafted projects for the interns based on the specific needs of the partnering state agencies, aiming to enhance interns' comprehension of administrative data and empower them to provide insights for informed decision-making in related areas.

Throughout the internship, participants received hands-on training in analyzing administrative data to identify trends in education and workforce dynamics. The primary focus was on presenting these findings to decision-makers. The internship emphasis was on unraveling complex data and transforming descriptive statistics into meaningful trends, providing an opportunity for the interns to further develop their careers in data analytics.

The culmination of these efforts resulted in a valuable set of findings, metrics, and data. The intention is for these resources to serve as a guide for decision-making within the relevant state agencies, aligning with their research objectives, programs, and vision. Each project provided important insights that provide a framework for future analysis.

Career and Technical Education (Darshan Senthil)

An important objective of New Jersey’s 2020 Combined State Plan for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is to facilitate adults in New Jersey to earn an industry-valued postsecondary credential or degree (New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, 2020). Recent global workforce trends necessitate more opportunities for adults to gain credentials beyond high school. CTE offers opportunities to students to gain technical and soft skills to prepare them for job market during and after high school. Using NJSDS, this study tracked a cohort enrolled in industry-based postsecondary programs that the State of New Jersey has identified as industry-valued credentials to ascertain student completion and employment characteristics. Research findings indicate that the majority of the students were enrolled in computer and information sciences programs followed by accounting technology/technician and bookkeeping. More than one-third of CTE program enrollees were able to earn a credential in three years after enrollment and the majority of these completers attended community colleges in New Jersey. The majority of the CTE earners were male and the same pattern was observed while tracking completion and employment status of the cohort. An important highlight of the project is that the median quarterly wages of employed students increased steadily in each of the first four quarters post-completion. Future research may further investigate industries joined by CTE program beneficiaries in the state to provide insights by industry and geographic area in the state.

Analysis of Literacy Programs (Akash Shanmugam)

Adult and community-based education programs promote educational equity and provide a career advancement platform for those who may not receive formal education. Such programs are important to upskilling community members. LACES (Literacy, Adult, and Community Education System) is the student data management system designed specifically for adult and community education programs. In this project, the intern tracked educational and employment outcomes of a cohort enrolled in different literacy and adult education programs using NJSDS. This analysis included completion characteristics of different adult and community education programs and examined subgroup differences on race, gender, and program level to record any major disparities. Analysis of the LACES program indicates that more than two-thirds of the total program enrollees did not complete their respective programs. Employment rates increased gradually up to four quarters following program exit. Median quarterly incomes also increased slightly at the end of four quarters tracked for this project when compared to wages for the first quarter. This project builds a foundation for future work on this topic, highlighting salient features of the LACES program in the state and provides insights that could be useful for designing interventions to improve program outcomes and maximize benefits for the beneficiaries.

Economic Mobility (Sasya Thanhallapally)

Postsecondary education plays a crucial role in upward economic mobility. However, many enrolled students drop out of college due to financial constraints that hinder their long-term career prospects. Economic mobility aims to overcome these barriers by ensuring equal opportunities of academic and professional growth for all genders, races, and social and economic classes. Research suggests that demand for postsecondary education typically increases during periods of economic downturn and helps in reducing unemployment rates, which in turn has a positive impact on household income, health outcomes, and civic engagement (Hinh, 2023). It is particularly important for researchers to know about the trajectory high school graduates adopt to better inform policymaking around college education and workforce development to ensure economic mobility for the state. This project tracked postsecondary educational and employment outcomes for New Jersey students who entered college in 2012 and 2013. The focus of the project was to analyze the proportion of students who pursued and successfully attained a college degree. It also highlighted differences in average earnings among those who did and did not complete a degree, and underscored the prevalent subgroup differences in these two categories of college enrollees across gender, race, and region. The study also tracked the median income of students based on their academic standing, revealing that those who are earning the highest wages among the cohort earned greater than a 3.5 grade point average during college. Median earnings of students based on their enrolled major were also calculated, and the findings suggest that students who pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors in college earned more than their non-STEM counterparts on average. This project paves the way for future research around this topic, particularly difference in wages within program area based on their college completion status. Such insights will better inform policymaking in the state for designing programs to improve educational and economic outcomes to ensure upward economic mobility by promoting equity.

References

Hinh, I. (2023). Risk of recession highlights need for states to support higher education. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/blog/risk-of-recession-highlights-need-for-states-to-support-higher-education

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. (2020). New Jersey combined state plan. https://www.nj.gov/njsetc/planning/unified/documents/NJ%20Combined%20State%20Plan%20for%20WIOA%202020%20Approved%206-22-2020.pdf

Tagline

Discusses research studies conducted by New Jersey Statewide Data System interns during the summer of 2023.

Work Trends: Americans' Attitudes about Work, Employers, and Government

heldrich_robb — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 16:34:06 +0000

Work Trends: Americans' Attitudes about Work, Employers, and Government heldrich_robb Fri, 04/16/2021 - 16:34

Work Category

Projects

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Since its inception, the Heldrich Center has sought to inform employers, union leaders, policymakers, community members, the media, and academic communities about critical workforce and educational issues that relate to the emerging global economy. To better understand the public’s attitudes about work, employers, and the government, and improve workplace practices and policy, the Heldrich Center produces the Work Trends surveys on a regular basis. The surveys poll the general public on critical workforce issues facing Americans and American businesses. The series is directed by Carl E. Van Horn, Ph.D., Director of the Heldrich Center.

Products:

Trends in American Opinions about Jobs, 2010 to 2021 (January 2022)

Impact of Hard Work in a Pandemic (April 2021)

Thoughts on the Women’s Recession (March 2021)

Impact of the Pandemic on Americans, Young and Old: Household Finances, Stress, and the Role of Government during COVID-19 (March 2021)

Assessing the Economic Effects of the Pandemic on Households (February 2021)

Twin Crises: The Economic Impact of COVID-19 and Americans’ Outlook for the Future (January 2021)

Healing the Wounded Economy (January 2021)

What Me Worry? Most Americans Not Concerned about the Impacts of Technology on Jobs (October 2018)

A Glass Half Full or Half Empty? Americans Agree the Economy is Strong, but Worry about the Future: Media Release (September 2018)

A Glass Half Full or Half Empty? Americans Agree the Economy is Strong, but Worry about the Future: Topline Survey Results (September 2018)

Turning Points: Americans’ Growing Confidence in the Job Market, Perspectives on the Presidential Election, and Assessments of Foreign and Immigrant Workers (September 2016)

Joys and Disappointments of Older Part-time Workers (September 2015)

A Tale of Two Workforces: The Benefits and Burdens of Working Part Time (June 2015)

Left Behind: The Long-term Unemployed Struggle in an Improving Economy (September 2014)

Unhappy, Worried, and Pessimistic: Americans in the Aftermath of the Great Recession (August 2014)

Diminished Lives and Futures: A Portrait of America in the Great-Recession Era (February 2013)

Left Out. Forgotten? Recent High School Graduates and the Great Recession (June 2012)

Chasing the American Dream: Recent College Graduates and the Great Recession (May 2012)

Out of Work and Losing Hope: The Misery and Bleak Expectations of American Workers (September 2011)

Voices of the Unemployed (September 2011)

Unfulfilled Expectations: Recent College Graduates Struggle in a Troubled Economy (May 2011)

Unemployed Workers and the Great Recession (January 2011)

Shattered American Dream: Unemployed Workers Lose Ground, Hope, and Faith in their Futures (December 2010)

American Workers Assess an Economic Disaster (September 2010)

No End in Sight: The Agony of Prolonged Unemployment (May 2010)

Healthy at Work? Unequal Access to Employer Wellness Programs (May 2009)

Distressed American Worker: Fears of Permanent Job Loss Soar (April 2009)

Anxious American Worker (August 2008)

Work-Filled Retirement: Workers’ Changing Views on Employment and Leisure (August 2005)

At a Crossroads: American Workers Assess Jobs and Economic Security Amid the Race for President (October 2004)

Laid Off: American Workers and Employers Assess a Volatile Labor Market (April 2004)

Disposable Worker: Living in a Job-Loss Economy (July 2003)

Restricted Access: Work Trends Survey of Employers About People with Disabilities  (March 2003)

Taking Stock of Retirement: How Workers and Employers Assess Pensions, Trust, and the Economy  (May 2002)

Standing on Shaky Ground: Employers Sharply Concerned in Aftermath of Recession and Terror (February 2002)

Workplace Divided: How Americans View Discrimination and Race on the Job (January 2002)

Holding On: Americans Assess a Changing Economic Landscape (March 2001)

Second Wind: Workers, Retirement, and Social Security (September 2000)

Making the Grade: What American Workers Think Should Be Done to Improve Education (June 2000)

Nothing But Net: American Workers and the Information Economy (February 2000)

Who Will Let the Good Times Roll? A National Survey on Jobs, the Economy, and the Race for President (January 2000)

Working Hard But Staying Poor: A National Survey of the Working Poor and Unemployed (January 2000)

Work and Family: How Employers and Workers can Strike the Balance (March 1999)

Americans' Attitudes about Work, Employers, and Government (September 1998)

Tagline

Surveys of the general public on critical workforce issues facing Americans and American businesses.

New Jersey STEM Pathways Network Products

heldrich_robb — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 17:09:29 +0000

New Jersey STEM Pathways Network Products heldrich_robb Fri, 03/26/2021 - 17:09

Type

Announcement

Topic

STEM

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education

Related Experts

Stephanie Walsh

Brittney Donovan

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The New Jersey STEM Pathways Network (NJSPN) is a strategic public-private alliance leading the state's efforts in improving access to and quality of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. In 2018, the Heldrich Center was contracted by the Research and Development Council of New Jersey to evaluate the implementation of NJSPN and its — at the time — four local ecosystems. Based on the center's recommendation to identify uniform outcomes measures to track their collective impact, NJSPN worked with the Heldrich Center to develop two data-driven products, including a STEM data dashboard in 2019 and a STEM data story in 2020, providing a compelling narrative of NJSPN's efforts and accomplishments to date.

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The Heldrich Center recently developed two products for the New Jersey STEM Pathways Network.

Effective Job Search Support in the Time of COVID

heldrich_robb — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 11:31:45 +0000

Effective Job Search Support in the Time of COVID

Topic

Strategically Virtual

long-term unemployment

heldrich_robb Thu, 03/25/2021 - 11:31

Type

Research Publications & Reports

Work Category

Program Development & Technical Assistance Products

Attachments

Effective_Job_Search_Support_in_the_Time_of_COVID.pdf (152.11 KB)

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Presents a three-tier model for providing more comprehensive support to job seekers based on best practices and real-world experiences in serving the unemployed. Discusses how current job search strategies offered by the public workforce system are insufficient for helping job seekers navigate the current economy. Offers and outlines a new model for job search assistance that is more expansive and robust for serving the millions of people out of work today based on the Heldrich Center's direct experiences in understanding what works, and what does not work, for diverse groups of the unemployed.

Tagline

Offers and outlines a new model for job search assistance.

The Failure of Big Data to Address Problems in the Workforce during the COVID-19 Era

heldrich_robb — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 14:10:03 +0000

The Failure of Big Data to Address Problems in the Workforce during the COVID-19 Era heldrich_robb Wed, 04/21/2021 - 14:10

Type

Announcement

Topic

Data Collection

Data Collection and Analysis

workforce development

Recession

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The Failure of Big Data to Address Problems in the Workforce during the COVID-19 Era

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English

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The COVID-19-driven economic recession has devastated the U.S. labor market and American workers. Real-time data are critical for policymakers to be able to develop strategies to respond to a crisis like the current recession as soon as it begins and can help inform recovery plans. Unfortunately, the United States does not have sufficient data infrastructure to quickly address the policy needs for responding to neither the current workforce crisis created by the pandemic, nor for future crises. A new article by Sean Simone offers recommendations for improving national workforce data collection and dissemination to better address future economic recessions and to allow for the monitoring of state and local economies.

Sean Simone, Ph.D. is Director of Research and Evaluation at the Heldrich Center and Director of the New Jersey Education to Earnings Data System. His paper is part of the Leading Workforce Resurgence series published by the Center for Workforce and Economic Opportunity at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

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State governments must have efficient data systems in place to better respond to workforce crises. A new article in the Leading Workforce Resurgence series offers recommendations for improving national workforce data collection and dissemination.

Trends in American Opinions about Jobs, 2010 to 2021

heldrich_robb — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 18:22:06 +0000

Trends in American Opinions about Jobs, 2010 to 2021

Topic

heldrich_robb Thu, 01/13/2022 - 18:22

Type

Work Trends Reports

Related Authors

Carl E. Van Horn, Ph.D.

Jessica Starace

Work Category

Research Products

Attachments

Work_Trends_Brief_January_2022.pdf (6.72 MB)

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Includes selected trend data about work, the job market, and job security. Compares findings from the fourth quarter of 2021 with key years during times of economic strife and growth, including immediately following the depths of the Great Recession, during the economic recovery, as the economy expanded, and in the week leading up to the administration of the first COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.

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Examines selected trend data about work, the job market, and job security.

Impact of the Pandemic on Americans, Young and Old: Household Finances, Stress, and the Role of Government during COVID-19

heldrich_robb — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 18:03:08 +0000

Impact of the Pandemic on Americans, Young and Old: Household Finances, Stress, and the Role of Government during COVID-19

Topic

workforce trends

heldrich_robb Thu, 03/25/2021 - 18:03

Type

Work Trends Reports

Related Authors

Jessica Starace

Work Category

Research Products

Attachments

The_Pandemic’s_Toll_on_Families_Young_and_Old.pdf (6.64 MB)

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A new Work Trends brief takes a deep dive into survey respondents’ behaviors, attitudes, and opinions by age. The analysis shows that adults ages 18 to 44 describe considerable worry and stress for themselves and their families, but also say they are confident President Biden can manage the pandemic. While Americans age 65 and over are less likely to say they have trouble paying their bills, they are also more worried about the toll of the pandemic on the economy and are less likely to say they have confidence in the Biden administration’s ability to manage the pandemic, compared to younger people. Americans agree on various political and economic attitudinal measures regardless of age, such as rating the government’s handling of the economy and their concern about the unemployment rate and other economic indicators, yet there appears to be statistical differences in opinion by age regarding the role of government.

Tagline

Examines the behaviors, attitudes, and opinions by age of Americans as measured in a December 2020 survey conducted by the Heldrich Center.