Searching for Higher Job Satisfaction
Is the Tide Lifting All Boats? A Closer Look at the Earnings Growth Experiences of U.S. Workers
U.S. Virgin Islands Struggle While Puerto Rico Rebounds

Almost two years after hurricanes Irma and Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the two territories’ economies have moved in very different directions. When the hurricanes struck, both were already in long economic slumps and had significant fiscal problems. As of mid-2019, however, Puerto Rico’s economy was showing considerable signs of improvement since the hurricanes, while the Virgin Islands’ economy remained mired in a deep slump through the end of 2018, though signs of a nascent recovery began emerging in early 2019. In this post, we assess the contrasting trends of these two economies since the hurricanes and attempt to explain the forces driving these trends.
Just Released: Transitions to Unemployment Tick Up in Latest SCE Labor Market Survey

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s July 2019 SCE Labor Market Survey shows a year-over-year rise in employer-to-employer transitions as well as an increase in transitions into unemployment. Satisfaction with promotion opportunities and wage compensation were largely unchanged, while satisfaction with non-wage benefits retreated. Regarding expectations, the average expected wage offer (conditional on receiving one) and the average reservation wage—the lowest wage at which respondents would be willing to accept a new job—both increased. Expectations regarding job transitions were largely stable.
Did the Value of a College Degree Decline during the Great Recession?

In an earlier post, we studied how educational attainment affects labor market outcomes and earnings inequality. In this post, we investigate whether these labor market effects were preserved across the last business cycle: Did students with certain types of educational attainment weather the recession better?
Did Changes in Economic Expectations Foreshadow Swings in the 2018 Elections?

In our previous post, we looked at political polarization in economic expectations based on county-level results in the 2016 presidential election. In this post, we analyze how expectations leading up to and following the 2018 midterm elections evolved based on how districts voted in the House of Representatives elections. Do we see a similar post-election change in political polarization of beliefs when comparing congressional districts in which a Republican won in 2018 with those won by a Democrat? Were observed changes in expectations leading up to the 2018 elections systematically different in areas where the election resulted in a change in the party holding the House seat? We show that economic expectations deteriorated notably between the 2016 and 2018 elections in districts that switched from Republican to Democratic control, compared to districts that remained Republican.
Just Released: Introducing the SCE Household Spending Survey

Today we are releasing new data on individuals’ experiences and expectations regarding household spending. These data have been collected every four months since December 2014 as part of our Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE). The goal of this blog post is to introduce the SCE Household Spending Survey and highlight some of its features.
Just Released: New York State’s Community Colleges are Successfully Partnering with Employers

Community colleges frequently work with local employers to help shape the training of students and incumbent workers. This type of engagement has become an increasingly important strategy for community colleges to help students acquire the right skills for available jobs, and also helps local employers find and retain workers with the training they need. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York conducted a survey of community colleges in New York State with the goal of documenting the amount and types of these kinds of activities taking place. Our report, Employer Engagement by Community Colleges in New York State, summarizes the findings of our survey.