Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has sent shockwaves through the American labor market. Millions of Americans lost or left their jobs, and employers are having a harder time than ever recruiting workers. From government officials, to academics, to business leaders and employees, everyone is asking the same questions: Where is our workforce, how has the pandemic impacted the way we work, and what does it mean for the future of work?

Over the next few weeks, we’re diving into these questions with a special three-part series called “Catalysts for Change: The Changing Workforce.” In our second episode, Jill speaks with Dan Schneider, Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and Co-Director of the SHIFT project, which has the largest source of data on service sector workers in the United States. Having collected and studied data on workforce trends since long before the pandemic began, we talk with Dan about how the pandemic – and the government aid that came with it – altered ideas about work, and where we go from here.

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