Vulnerable Populations in the Pandemic Labor Market

Business closures and staff furloughs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to historic increases in unemployment across large segments of the workforce, with one in five American workers applying for unemployment insurance between March and May of this year. Emerging evidence suggests that certain populations have suffered disproportionately from sudden job loss and the changing labor market—including workers with low income and those that are older, have health conditions or disabilities, or are from minority backgrounds. Individuals in these groups are also at increased health risk from the novel coronavirus.

Mathematica’s Center for Studying Disability Policy held a 45-minute online roundtable discussion on June 24, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. ET to hear more from our panel of experts about what they’re learning about the experiences of vulnerable populations. Our panel includes the following:

Purvi Sevak, Mathematica

Teresa Ghilarducci, The New School for Social Research

Kelly Pavich, Bridges from School to Work

David Wittenburg, Mathematica