It seems almost too obvious to say, but inadequate employment levels play a huge role in poverty levels of communities. In a time of staggeringly disparate economic indicators in the pandemic-era United States, the question of low unemployment rates demands further examination. Our guests today have co-authored a forthcoming book that explores just this topic and more. Coming in April, Moving The Needle: What Tight Labor Markets Do for the Poor looks at what happens when jobs are ample, but workers are harder to find.

Katherine S. Newman is Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of California. She is the author of fourteen books. And Elisabeth S. Jacobs is Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute and cofounder of WorkRise, for which she serves as deputy director. They are the authors of Moving The Needle and they joined the podcast to discuss the book and tight labor markets.