CEO Library

This spotlight brief highlights approaches used by three of the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Navigator grantees, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, to fill gaps in face-to-face UI services for historically underserved populations, including older adults, rural residents, and potential claimants from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. This brief is part of a study funded by the U.S.

This spotlight brief describes outreach and engagement strategies that UI Navigators reported using in Maine, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to share information about the UI program and UI Navigation services with underrepresented groups and to address several barriers to UI program access. This brief is part of a study funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Chief Evaluation Office, that explores the implementation of Unemployment Insurance (UI) Navigator Grants, which seven states received in 2022.

This spotlight brief describes technology barriers to accessing the unemployment insurance (UI) program that Navigator staff in New Mexico and Pennsylvania reported some claimants and potential claimants face, especially those who were older (ages 55+), had low incomes, or lived in a rural area. The brief then describes how UI Navigators in both states helped to remove those barriers by providing in-person assistance, technology equipment, and internet access so individuals with technology barriers can access the UI program. This brief is part of a study funded by the U.S.

The report synthesizes findings from third-party evaluator (TPE)-conducted implementation evaluations and subsequent interim reports, supplemented by submitted quarterly narrative reports (QNRs) from March 2023. The synthesis aims to provide an overarching description of the first round of SCC (SCC1) grantees’ progress in implementing their workforce development and career pathways programming and highlight promising practices, implementation barriers, and lessons learned across the grantees.

The report provides a snapshot of how Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) grantees adapted or expanded strategies to serve older workers in response to challenges faced during the pandemic. Strategies include (1) adopting new recruitment outreach, intake, and engagement activities; (2) promoting digital access and technology loaner programs; (3) providing training remotely; (4) adopting new host agency and employer strategies; and (5) implementing staffing strategies to support SCSEP participants’ needs.

The purpose of the Older Workers Implementation and Descriptive Study is to build evidence about the implementation of the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) and other U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) workforce programs serving older workers to inform the continuous improvement of SCSEP. To inform evaluation activities, the report reviews the literature and identifies the state of the evidence on workforce programs, including those that serve older workers and populations with similar employment barriers.

The report examines the employer-based voluntary retirement system and explores a variety of potential changes through a three-part analysis:

Workers who are 55 years old and over are projected to remain the fastest growing segment of working adults in the U.S. through 2022. Health, longevity, education, and attitude are some of the reasons for their continued labor force attachment. In recent years, older workers have also either delayed retirement or re-entered the workforce due to financial losses in the Great Recession. Older workers face different challenges and responsibilities than their younger counterparts.

Labor force participation and the characteristics of older American workers (aged 55 and over) have changed a great deal since the mid-1930s, reflecting changes in the broader labor force. No longer are men the sole supporters of their families, working in jobs that require physical labor and expecting to fully retire by age 65. During and after World War II, women surged into the labor force. Health and life expectancy have increased, especially for more educated workers.

As the Baby Boomer generation moves toward retirement age, a chief concern facing U.S. policymakers is how to accommodate this demographic shift. For the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and other agencies, the workforce dynamics of older workers is of particular concern.

Retirement patterns have changed substantially in the United States in the last 30 years. During the period from 1900 to 1980, there was a continuous decline in the labor force participation of older individuals. However, this trend has reversed since the 1980s. Americans are now retiring later and expect to continue doing so. Recent research suggests a number of significant changes that have increased the labor force participation of older workers. These include the following:

The report describes a study where researchers examine the impact of job displacement on wealth holdings of older workers. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, they measure the impact of job loss on the total wealth and its subcomponents. They find that a typical worker experiences a persistent reduction in his/her wealth balances at a rate of 8 percent six or more years post job loss. Wealth shocks of this magnitude during the years leading up to retirement may jeopardize wealth adequacy during retirement.