October 27, 2026 / Workforce

A Motivated Public Sector Workforce Faces Significant Retention ChallengesImage

Public Servant Pulse, a first-of-its-kind national survey by The People Lab at Harvard Kennedy School, examines the experiences of 4,792 state and local government employees across all 50 states. The findings reveal a workforce motivated by public service but facing significant challenges, including burnout, workplace harassment, and turnover risk. They also highlight the importance of workplace relationships and organizational practices for employee well-being.

Key Findings:

  • More than 1 in 4 public servants intend to leave their jobs within a year. Another 20% are unsure whether they will stay.
  • 35% of public servants experienced workplace harassment in the past year. This includes bullying, threats, attacks, or harassment from coworkers, supervisors, residents, or the media.
  • State government employees report worse workforce outcomes than city and county employees. Their workplace satisfaction score is 58 out of 100, compared with 71 for city and county employees, and 38% intend to leave their jobs versus 26%.
  • Workplace belonging is strongly associated with employee satisfaction and engagement. Employees who feel they belong report satisfaction scores 29 points higher and engagement scores 22 points higher than those who do not.
  • Supportive workplace practices are associated with lower burnout. Among employees who say their organization encourages innovation, satisfaction scores are 23 points higher and the likelihood of experiencing burnout symptoms is 31% lower.
  • Most public servants are motivated by public service. Two-thirds say the public sector is the best place to make an impact, and 63% say a desire to serve the public or make a difference motivated their career choice.

Read the press release here.

October 27, 2026 / Workforce

6 in 10 U.S. Workers Still Lack Quality JobsImage

The 2026 American Job Quality Study, led by Jobs for the Future (JFF) and its research partners, examines job quality across the U.S. workforce using a nationally representative survey of more than 18,000 workers. The findings highlight persistent gaps in job quality and its relationship to employee retention, with implications for workforce development and economic mobility.

Key Insights:

  • 6 in 10 U.S. workers still lack quality jobs. The share remained at 60% for the second consecutive year.
  • Workers in lower-quality jobs are nearly twice as likely to change employers. In 2025, 15% of workers in non-quality jobs changed employers one year later, compared with 8% of those in quality jobs.
  • Gen Z workers experience lower job quality and higher turnover. Nearly 1 in 4 (23%) changed employers in the past year.
  • People with incarceration records are less likely to have quality jobs. Only 31% of workers with records of incarceration had quality jobs, compared with 36% of those with records of arrest or incarceration.
  • AI benefits at work are unevenly distributed. Among employees who use AI at least weekly, 52% held quality jobs, compared with 32% of those who never use it.

Read the full study report here.

January 27, 2026 / Equity, Workforce

Burnout, Backslides, and Barriers: Inside Women in the Workplace 2025Image

Lean In published its 2025 Women in the Workplace report. It shows that after years of slow progress, many companies are pulling back on their commitment to women’s advancement. Fewer organizations are prioritizing gender equity, workplace flexibility is shrinking, and women—especially women of color—are facing growing barriers early and late in their careers. Together, these trends risk locking in inequality at every level of the corporate pipeline.

Key insights to know:

  • For the first time, women are less likely than men to say they want a promotion (80% vs. 86%), with the gap especially wide at entry and senior levels—likely reflecting burnout and stalled opportunities, not lack of commitment.

  • Women continue to be promoted to manager at lower rates than men, and disparities are stark for women of color.

  • Six in 10 senior-level women report frequent burnout, and many feel their gender makes advancement harder and job security shakier.

  • Women who work remotely are less likely to be promoted or sponsored, while men see no such penalty. At the same time, companies are rolling back remote and hybrid options at record rates.

  • While most companies still say diversity and inclusion matter, fewer are backing it up with training, resources, or tailored career development.

  • Employees value respectful and fair workplaces, but many entry- and mid-level women still don’t feel supported or comfortable speaking up, meaning organizations are leaving talent on the table.

Read the full report here.

October 24, 2025 / Economics, Workforce

Fewer Than Half of U.S. Workers Have a Quality JobImage

A new national survey from Gallup, Jobs for the Future, the Families and Workers Fund, and the W.E. Upjohn Institute reveals that only 4 in 10 U.S. workers hold jobs that meet key indicators of quality. Based on responses from 18,000 workers across industries, the American Job Quality Study (AJQS) is one of the most comprehensive looks yet at how people experience work in America, offering data often missing from traditional labor measures.

Researchers define a “quality job” as one that meets thresholds in at least three of five areas: financial well-being, workplace culture and safety, growth and development, agency and voice, and work structure and autonomy. The findings highlight how improving job quality is not only vital for worker well-being but also for business success and economic resilience.

Key data insights:

  • Only 39% of W-2 employees hold quality jobs, compared to 46% of independent or self-employed workers.

  • Job quality varies by region — highest in the West (44%) and lowest in the Midwest (36%).

  • 71% of employees have autonomy over how they do their work, but 62% lack stable, predictable schedules.

  • Nearly 7 in 10 workers feel they have too little influence over their pay and benefits.

  • Half of employees earn at or below 300% of the federal poverty line, and 29% say they’re “just getting by.”

  • Employees in quality jobs report far greater job satisfaction (58% vs. 23%) and better overall health and life satisfaction.

Read the full study here.

July 29, 2025 / Aging, Workforce

More U.S. workers now care for aging parents than for young children.Image

For the first time in U.S. history, more working adults are caring for aging parents than for young children. Nearly 23 million people in the workforce now provide eldercare, surpassing the 21 million caring for preschoolers. This shift, highlighted in a recent Harvard Business Review article, marks a major turning point for families, workplaces, and public policy.

With adults aged 65 and older now the fastest-growing age group in the country, caregiving responsibilities are increasingly falling on mid-career professionals, many of whom are at the height of their earnings and leadership roles.

Key takeaways:

  • Eldercare now exceeds childcare among working adults, with 23 million workers caring for an aging parent.

  • 14% of the U.S. workforce are elder caregivers—and that number is growing quickly.

  • Nearly half (45%) of these caregivers are between ages 45–64, often juggling career and family responsibilities at once.

  • 92% of surveyed elder caregivers say they want more support from their employers.

  • Georgia and other states still have time to modernize “two-gen” workforce and family programs to include eldercare—not just childcare.

Read the article here.

April 28, 2025 / Commuting, Workforce

Long Commutes, Lower Pay: Georgia to #1 in Workplace StressImage

A study measuring workplace stress across the U.S. ranked Georgia as the most stressful state to work in, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the CDC, and other federal sources. Researchers from Innerbody Labs assessed factors like employment challenges, income decline, long commutes, and limited work flexibility. Georgia’s rise from 18th to 1st highlights growing financial and commuting strains impacting workers across the state.

Key Takeaways:

  • Georgia now ranks #1 for workplace stress, jumping from 18th place in one year.

  • Worker incomes have declined, with Georgia seeing a 0.52% drop in average weekly earnings.

  • Long commutes are a major issue, averaging 28–29 minutes across the state.

  • Few workers walk or bike to work, increasing transportation-related stress.

  • Southern states dominate the most stressful rankings, with Alabama and Tennessee close behind.

Read their full post here.

March 27, 2024 / Equity, Workforce

Is Metro Atlanta bridging the gender pay gap?Image

This month, the Research and Analytics Division of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) published an analysis of the gender pay gap in Metro Atlanta using 1-year estimates from the American Community Survey, which the Census Bureau has produced for 2005 to 2022.

Here are some of the findings:

  1. Women in metro Atlanta earn about 82 cents on the dollar compared with their male counterparts.
  2. Metro Atlanta has the 7th largest gender pay gap among the twenty largest metros in the United States.
  3. The gender gap has reduced by three cents from 21.2 cents in 2005 to 18 cents in 2022. Thus, while the gap has narrowed slightly over the last decade and a half, it remains quite wide.
  4. Disparities are lowest among protective service occupations (where women earn 93.3 cents on the dollar) and highest among health practitioners (where women earn only 65.6 cents on the dollar)—the wage gap is nearly 28 cents higher in those health occupations.

Read the full analysis in the 33°n blog post here.

March 22, 2024 / Equity, Workforce

Black women are crowded out of higher paying rolesImage

A new report by the Urban Institute explores how Black women are represented in vulnerable work. This includes work with less pay, benefits, and hours and alternative work arrangements like independent contracting, contract work, temp agency work, and on-call/day work.

Some key findings are: 

  • Black women are crowded out of higher-paying roles in comparison to white men, white women, and Black men.
  • Black women are underrepresented in occupations with higher rates of employer-sponsored health insurance as compared with white men but overrepresented in occupations with higher retirement coverage rates in comparison with white women.
  • Black women are also crowded into occupations that have fewer hours compared with Black men and white men.
  • When the share of temp agency workers in occupations—an arrangement with the lowest benefit rates and pay—increases, the representation of Black women increases, compared to white men.

This report is part of Urban’s Financial Well-Being Data Hub, which seeks to inform solutions to advance equity and improve households’ financial security.

Read the full report here.

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.

March 24, 2023 / Commuting, Workforce

Trend alert: Having a formal remote work policy.Image

Georgia Commute Options (GCO) shared the results of their latest Remote Work Survey with three key findings:

  1. There is a strong demand for a hybrid, flexible future: employees prefer to work from home, on average, 3.6 days per week.
  2. Commuting is a top barrier for in-office work: two-thirds of respondents reported their commute as a key factor impacting their willingness to go into the office.
  3. Return-to-office plans are becoming clearer: 63% of organizations now have a formal remote work policy.

See how employees’ and employers’ preferences have changed over the last 2.5 years and more information about commute trends on GCO’s website.

March 1, 2023 / Criminal Justice, Economics, Education, Equity, General, Health, Housing, Policy, Workforce

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.
November 29, 2022 / Health, Workforce

Long covid leading to more workers with disabilitiesImage

From Liberty Street Economics

  • Approximately 19% of individuals infected with COVID now have long COVID, possibly leading to the 1.7 million increase in working-age people reporting a disability since 2020.
  • Symptoms of long COVID include fatigue, brain fog, and muscle/joint pain. However, explicit tests for long COVID do not exist, making it difficult to confirm a diagnosis.
  • With the increase of disable workers employed, work place accommodations such as avoiding physical exertion or taking rest breaks have become necessary.
  • It is likely that disabled workers suffering from long COVID and the necessary accommodations will be a constant element in the future of the workplace.
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.

June 17, 2022 / Workforce

Three rural Georgia counties lead the nation in job postings growth.Image

Emsi Burning Glass recently released a report analyzing the shifting trends in rural and urban job postings. They found:

  • 3 of the top 10 counties in the nation with the highest growth in job postings were in Georgia. Madison, Putnam, and Franklin Counties ranked 2nd, 4th, and 5th, respectively.
  • 90% of the top 50 counties with the highest growth in job postings were rural.
  • Rural jobs have experienced major growth in high-tech skills.
  • Remote work has allowed for traditionally urban opportunities to move outside of urban areas.
  • Job growth in rural areas has supported wage growth.
January 6, 2022 / Policy, Workforce

The Georgia Restaurant Association serves an important purpose: advocating for the needs of restaurants in Georgia which make up the second largest public industry in the state.Insight

The Georgia Restaurant Association (GRA) is one of the newest restaurant associations in the US. The GRA was created 19 years ago to advocate, educate, and create awareness about restaurants in the state. The Georgia restaurant industry is the second largest public sector employer with more than half a million workers in nearly 19,000 locations. GRA’s President & CEO, Karen Bremer, recently spoke to Metro Atlanta CEO about supporting the restaurant industry during the pandemic. Karen remarked that the pandemic initially devastated restaurants, but they have adapted to stay open while keeping employees and customers safe. Further, the GRA has advocated for pandemic-relief legislation at the state and federal level to keep Georgia’s restaurant industry thriving.

April 23, 2021 / Education, Workforce

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Of the 43,353 Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) credentials earned in the 2018–2019 school year, only 16% were aligned with workforce demand. (GPEE’s Top 10 Issues to Watch in 2021)

February 26, 2021 / Early Childhood, Workforce

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A new study finds that an additional 90-100K Georgia children could be covered by CAPS subsidies over the next three years, allowing thousands of parents to continue and advance in their work and education, if the following are enacted:

  • Under the current setup of CAPS at 50% of the state’s median income (SMI), an additional $198million would cover almost all families who can and want to take advantage of CAPS, realizing that the bar set is very restrictive in its current state.
  • Increasing the SMI to 85% (in line with federal recommendations) would cover thousands of additional families and fill a major gap in workforce development for return-to-work parents among others. This can be done for an additional $340 million.

(Metro Atlanta Chamber, GSU’s Georgia Policy Labs)

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%)