October 27, 2023 / Economics, Workforce

Findings from Metro Atlanta Chamber’s 2023 Talent Supply ReportImage

The Metro Atlanta Chamber published the 2023 Talent Supply Report, an in-depth study on the supply and demand for skilled talent across the state of Georgia. The report offers recommendations & better practices for closing gaps and improving Georgia’s overall talent supply.

Key findings:

  • Both the supply of qualified workers and the demand for them are up in Georgia, but the gap between them continues to increase for most industries.
  • Most employers hiring for entry-level jobs seek talent with prior work experience.
  • A coordinated, concerted effort is needed to develop a skills-based workforce with the training and certifications necessary to meet Georgia’s ever-growing job demand.

Read the report here.

September 24, 2023 / Basic Needs, Economics, Equity, Inflation

U.S. Poverty Increased as pandemic-era programs endedImage

You may have noticed a drastic decrease in child poverty over the last couple of years. Now, you’ll see a dramatic increase as pandemic-era social safety net programs ended.

Based on the latest report on U.S. poverty by the census, the supplemental child poverty rate more than doubled, from 5.2 percent in 2021 to 12.4 percent in 2022.

The U.S. Census Bureau measures poverty in two ways every year. The first, called the official poverty measure, is based on cash resources. The second measure, the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), includes both cash and noncash benefits and subtracts necessary expenses (such as taxes and medical expenses).

The report explains, “Social Security continued to be the most important antipoverty program in 2022, moving 28.9 million people out of SPM poverty. Meanwhile, refundable tax credits moved 6.4 million people out of SPM poverty, down from 9.6 million people in 2021”.

Charts are from The New York Times.

The State of Black GeorgiaImage

The State of Black Georgia is an educational tool and call to action for Black Georgians, public and private sector stakeholders and the general public that can inform civic engagement, non-profit organizations, elected officials, businesses, policy makers, grass roots organizations, philanthropists, faith-based organizations, researchers, advocates, and other key stakeholders. Together, we can promote inclusive economic development, influential partnerships, and implementation of best practice models that foster overall improvement in conditions for Georgia’s Black residents and the state as a whole.”

From the report:

  • The median wealth of Blacks will fall to zero by 2053 if no action is taken.
  • The percentage of Georgia Black students failing to read at third-grade level was 36%, a 25%
  • increase over the pandemic.
  • Approximately 50% of the inmates admitted in the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2021
  • were Black, yet Black Georgians make up 32% of the State’s population.
  • Fifty-four percent of infant deaths were Black children.
January 25, 2023 / Economics, Equity, Health

Economic inequality is a life or death issueImage

Looking at the factors that contribute to (and/or result from) Atlanta’s ranking as #1 in economic inequality, a clear pattern emerges. The experiences and outcomes of Atlanta neighborhoods are divided along northeast and southwest lines in nearly every way.

When the highest income neighborhoods are living one and a half times longer than those with the lowest income, these inequities are a matter of life or death.

November 29, 2022 / Economics, Equity

Atlanta has the highest income inequality in the nationImage

In not-new-news, AJC’s analysis of Census data shows Atlanta has the highest income inequality among major US metros.

“[M]any Black residents are not seeing the benefits of [strong economic growth], said Janelle Williams, co-founder of the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative. The median household income for a Black family in Atlanta is $28,000, while the median income for white families is roughly $84,000. Overall, Black residents account for half of the city’s population.”

This analysis uses the Gini coefficient based on the US Census Bureau’s 2016-2020 American Community Survey data. “The Gini coefficient measures how equally income is distributed among a population and is expressed in a decimal format ranging from zero to one.”

While the City of Atlanta is No. 1 among cities, “the Atlanta metro area ranks as No. 227 for income inequality, with a Gini co-efficient of 0.4708, significantly better than the New York metro area (No. 39) and the Houston metro (No. 117).”

September 13, 2022 / Basic Needs, Economics, Policy, Workforce

Unprecedented decline in child poverty rates attributed to government safety net programsImage

A new report from Child Trends (also covered in the New York Times) evaluates the biggest factors contributing to the unprecedented 30-year trend of decreasing child poverty. Key findings point to governmental safety net programs as key drivers.

Further, the US Census Bureau released pandemic-era child poverty estimates (through 2021) this week, saying “the new data show the significant impact the expansion of anti-poverty programs during the COVID-19 pandemic had on reducing child poverty.”

Additional recent studies, including from our partners at DataHaven in Connecticut found that food scarcity and child poverty rose after safety net programs ended.

What does that mean for social sector leaders?

First, the scale of government interventions offer opportunities to have the greatest impact. But blanket policies will always leave some households falling through cracks: immigrants, mixed-status and undocumented households, families that are newly navigating human services, digitally disconnected, underemployed, housing burdened, and others. Our role then, is (1) advocate for expanded policies and educate officials of the impact; and (2) find and directly serve the families that are left behind.

Second, the new philanthropic role of counties and cities distributing ARPA funds offers an opportunity, and maybe a model, to (1) build relationships with elected officials and (2) provide guidance in funding and programming decisions that have systemic impacts.

August 7, 2022 / Early Childhood, Economics, Equity

Childhood friendships across economic classes key to upward mobilityImage

In new research from Raj Chetty’s team at Opportunity Insights (published in two parts in Nature and summarized in NYT), a massive analysis of economic and social networks found that exposure to and friendships among people of different social classes is one of the strongest predictors of upward mobility.

The study found that lower socio-economic groups make connections in their home neighborhood and at religious institutions, while higher SES groups tend to make their bridging connections in college. This research builds on their prior economic mobility analysis and development of the Opportunity Atlas.

So what do we do with this information?

Programs, services, policies, and investments that facilitate interactions across diverse economic groups will likely have lasting impacts. Policy level solutions might include inclusive housing and planning decisions. At a more local level, effort might be made to reduce in-school student segregation. Programmatically, even experiential programs outside of participants’ own neighborhood may have an impact.

February 9, 2021 / Basic Needs, Economics, Equity, Hispanic

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The racial gap in liquid assets makes Black and Hispanic families more vulnerable to income fluctuations. When faced with a job loss, Black and Hispanic families have to cut spending more dramatically than White families. Upon the arrival of a tax refund or other stimulus, Black and Hispanic families have to spend it more quickly. Listen to the MAX Workforce Solutions presentation or read the full report (JPMorgan Chase Institute)

January 13, 2021 / Economics, Equity, Hispanic, Workforce

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In a new fact sheet from the National Women’s Law Center, we’ve learned that:

  • Women represented 111% of the 140,000 net jobs lost in December (men gained 16,000)
  • More than 2 in 5 of the 12.1 million women’s jobs lost between February and April have not yet returned
  • The overall unemployment rate among women (6.3%) masks even higher rates for Black women (8.4%), Latinas (9.1%), 20- to 24-year-olds (9.3%), and women with disabilities (11.4%)
August 27, 2020 / Economics, Equity, Workforce

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62% of Black-owned businesses are not prepared to go more than 3-4 weeks without revenue. 96% of Black-owned businesses are sole proprietorships with either 1099 contractors or no other staff, limiting the available support they qualify for. [webinar] (Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative)

August 22, 2020 / Basic Needs, Economics, Equity, Workforce

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“The rapid adoption of remote work and automation could accelerate inequalities in place for decades. Economists say the resulting ‘K’ shaped recovery will be good for professionals—and bad for everyone else.” [article] (Wall Street Journal)

June 9, 2020 / Economics, Hispanic, Workforce

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41% of Black-owned business closed between February and April. 32% of Latinx- and 36% of immigrant-owned businesses also shuttered. (Axios)

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