Labor Markets

Productive labor markets are the backbone of strong communities. For more than two decades, RAND Education and Labor researchers have conducted studies related to whether labor markets are functioning efficiently, and how they can be enhanced to provide opportunities for all. We have deep experience on both sides of the labor market. On the supply side, our work on human capital and workforce development helps public and private sector decisionmakers understand how to keep workers productive, knowledgeable, and engaged. On the demand side, our work seeks to understand what drives firms’ choices about how many and what types of workers to employ, and entrepreneurs’ decisions about starting and growing new firms.

RAND Education and Labor does intensive research on the ways in which the dynamics of labor supply and demand interact, analyzing wages, employment, demographics, public assistance benefits, and other dynamics; making informed projections of demand for, and supply of, skills; identifying constraints on employment growth; and recommending pathways to progress. We also help decisionmakers understand how to utilize data to inform labor market policymaking.

Featured Research

Recent Publications

• Explaining Heterogeneity in Use of Non-wage Benefits: The Role of Worker and Firm Characteristics in Disability Accommodations August 24, 2022

  Naoki Aizawa, Corina Mommaerts, Stephanie Rennane

  Using administrative data in Oregon, we document significant dispersion in accommodation rates across workers and firms. We decompose the variance in accommodation use, finding that firm characteristics explain 29% of this variance.

• A Targeted Industry Approach for Raising Quality Private-Sector Employment in Saudi Arabia July 29, 2021

  Shanthi Nataraj, Howard J. Shatz, Louay Constant, Matthew Sargent, Sean McKenna, Yousuf Abdelfatah, Florentine Eloundou Nekoul, Nathan Vest, Decision Support Center

  To help the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia develop its private sector and generate quality employment for Saudi citizens, the authors of this report assess the potential for Saudi Arabia to develop a specific industry—food manufacturing—as a means of increasing the demand for Saudi labor.

• Telecommuting and Work in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Are Workers Returning to the Workplace or Staying in Their Home Offices? December 3, 2020

  Philip Armour, Katherine Grace Carman, Kathleen J. Mullen, Shanthi Nataraj

  RAND researchers examine changes in workers' ability to telecommute during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic over time and by occupation. Evidence that telecommuting might be spreading to a broader set of occupations could indicate ongoing adjustments that may facilitate more telecommuting over time. The data were collected through the RAND American Life Panel as part of an ongoing analysis.

• Crisis Beyond the Crises: MENA's Youth Unemployment Problem August 5, 2020

  Krishna B. Kumar

  An unwavering commitment to fostering youth employment- and thus to overcome the crisis beyond the crises- seems necessary to ensure a prosperous future for the youthful MENA region, and critical to guarantee stability and security in the time to come.

• Addressing Employment Obstacles for Young Syrian Refugee Women June 30, 2020

  Namita Datta, Louay Constant, Natanee Thawesaengskulthai, Hannah Acheson-Field

  This Note builds on research covering the three countries with the highest concentration of Syrian refugees displaced since 2011: Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon.

• The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Changing Nature of Work: Lose Your Job, Show Up to Work, or Telecommute? June 18, 2020

  Philip Armour, Katherine Grace Carman, Kathleen J. Mullen, Shanthi Nataraj

  Stay-at-home orders save lives, but the extent to which they threaten livelihoods depends on the nature of one's work. This report examines how much the ability to work from home has mitigated the economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The data were collected through the RAND American Life Panel as part of an ongoing analysis of the effects of COVID-19.

• Preserving Small Businesses: Small-Business Owners Speak About Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic May 22, 2020

  C. Richard Neu, Diana Gehlhaus, Howard J. Shatz

  With the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic causing economic dislocations worldwide, RAND researchers interviewed 21 small-business owners and found that the most common concerns focused on a need for assistance in covering fixed operating costs and on worker safety. Adjustments to existing policies were also discussed, such as clear rules for reopening businesses and coordinated reopening policies across neighboring jurisdictions.

• The Appalachia Partnership Initiative's Investments in Education, Workforce Development, and Catalyzing the Community: Reflections from 2014 Through 2019 May 6, 2020

  Gabriella C. Gonzalez, Nupur Nanda, Shelly Culbertson, Harold D. Green, Kristin J. Leuschner

  RAND researchers assess the Appalachia Partnership Initiative (API)'s progress toward its vision and goals in improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education for grades K–12; energy and advanced manufacturing workforce development; and community building from 2014 through 2019. It is the final report in a multi-report series.