Can people on unemployment benefits earn more by working part-time?
Key takeaways
- Workers on unemployment benefits are allowed to work part-time in most jurisdictions, but local rules affect their net incomes.
- Some states' benefit structures may discourage part-time work, which could adversely affect the economy.
- In particular, flexible work is becoming part of the job search process as workers and businesses try each other out.
Has pay for flexible work kept up with prices?
Key takeaways
- Prices for consumers have risen rapidly over the past year, but hourly pay hasn't always kept up.
- In warehouse work, the paths of hourly pay adjusted for inflation have differed widely across metropolitan areas.
- Chicago is unique in the degree to which increases in pay have easily outpaced inflation, possibly due to a shrinking labor supply.
Monthly Labor Market Report - April 2022
Every day, the Instawork platform handles thousands of transactions involving businesses and hourly professionals, generating a huge amount of data on hourly pay as well as other aspects of the labor market. This report summarizes some of the major trends in demographics, roles, and worker constraints in regions across the United States.
ECI Release Briefing: Indexed Business Costs to May 2022
Transactions on the Instawork platform track the pay of hourly workers and the total cost of their shifts to local businesses. This briefing includes indexed cost trends for various roles in regions across the United States. Because the Instawork platform is part of a competitive labor market for hourly work, the trends shown here for total business costs are expected to follow the costs of other sources of staffing over time. Data used in this briefing may include data on future shifts that have been booked on the Instawork platform but have not yet taken place.
Where do flexible workers have the shortest commutes?
Key takeaways
- In most metropolitan areas, the vast majority of flexible workers are drivers.
- These workers commute an average of at least 10 miles each way as the crow flies, which is even longer in practice.
- These results hint at the economic gains from improving public transport, especially in areas like Toronto and Denver, where workers have canceled shifts disproportionately because of issues using mass transit.
Does Amazon's pay increase impact all warehouses?
Key takeaways
- Amazon is an enormous employer of in-person hourly workers, with up to three square feet per person in fulfillment centers located in metropolitan areas across the United States.
- Because of Amazon's relatively high rates of hourly pay, the size of its presence might be correlated with higher pay in transportation logistics relative to local norms.
- We find a higher correlation of Amazon's presence with pay rates on the Instawork platform than with pay rates for warehouse work in local labor markets as a whole.
Monthly Labor Market Report - March 2022
Every day, the Instawork platform handles thousands of transactions involving businesses and hourly professionals, generating a huge amount of data on hourly pay as well as other aspects of the labor market. This report summarizes some of the major trends in demographics, roles, and worker constraints in regions across the United States.
How Hourly Workers are Migrating Across the U.S.
Key takeaways
- A small share of flexible workers on the Instawork platform are working in more than one metropolitan area.
- Most of the mobility occurs between metro areas in the same state.
- The availability of work, as well as personal reasons for changing locations, are apparently bigger drivers of mobility than differences in hourly pay.
ECEC Report Briefing: Business Costs March 2022
Transactions on the Instawork platform track the wages paid to hourly workers and the total cost of their shifts to local businesses. This briefing focuses on costs to businesses for dozens of occupations in regions across the United States. Data used in this briefing may include data on future shifts that have been booked on the Instawork platform but have not yet taken place.
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