Annual Report: Black Employment and Unemployment in 2011

January 2012 by Steven Pitts
» Full Report
» Press Release

A year-in-review of the Monthly Black Worker Report,  “Annual Report: Black Employment and Unemployment in 2011” finds that last year’s unemployment rates for Black workers remained in the 15 to 16 percent range, while unemployment for the rest of the workforce dropped below 9 percent. The report is based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey, and breaks out unemployment rates by race, gender and age groups in 2011.

Proposed Regulations Could Limit Access to
Affordable Health Coverage for Workers’ Children and Family Members

December 2011, by Ken Jacobs, Dave Graham-Squire, Dylan H. Roby, Gerald F. Kominski, Christina M. Kinane, Jack Needleman, Greg Watson, and Daphna Gans
» Policy Brief
» Press Release
» Members of Congress cite our report

Our latest report analyzes the proposed regulations defining affordable job-based coverage under the Affordable Care Act. We find that the proposed regulations would result in 144,000 fewer Californians having access to subsidized coverage in the health insurance exchange than would be the case under an alternative interpretation of affordability.

The Promise of the Affordable Care Act, the Practical Realities of Implementation:
Maintaining Health Coverage During Life Transitions

October 2011 by Ann O’Leary, Beth Capell, Ken Jacobs, and Laurel Lucia
» Policy Brief

Americans’ health insurance coverage is not static; people cycle in and out of coverage and between sources of coverage, often during life transitions like losing a job, changing jobs, moving, or divorce. The Affordable Care Act creates an unprecedented opportunity to address the gaps in health coverage caused by these and other life transitions.

Achieving the promise of the Affordable Care Act will require attention in federal regulations and actions by the new health insurance exchanges to ensure seamless coverage for those who rely on private insurance, including job-based coverage. This paper makes several policy recommendations to ensure that all Americans can maintain health coverage under the ACA—even during complicated life transitions.

Meeting California’s Retirement Security Challenge

October 2011 by Nari Rhee, ed.
» Research Volume
» Press Release
» Press Coverage

This edited volume brings together rigorous academic and policy research to outline California workers’ retirement prospects in the context of threats to Social Security, the decline of secure workplace pensions, and the shift to risky individual investment accounts like 401(k)s. In California, less than one–half of private sector workers have access to an employer sponsored retirement plan, and nearly half of all workers are likely to have retirement incomes that place them in or near poverty. There is also marked racial and socioeconomic inequality in life expectancy among California residents that persists at retirement age. Fortunately, state level policies can make it easier for employers and employees to participate in cost–efficient and secure retirement plans for workers who do not have an adequate pension.

Research & Resources on the Affordable Care Act

Proposed Regulations Could Limit Access to Affordable Health Coverage for Workers’ Children and Family Members (December 2011)

Summary of Health Care Reform Legislation Provisions Affecting Children, Non-Elderly Adults and Employers (Updated 11/1/11)

The Promise of the Affordable Care Act, the Practical Realities of Implementation (October, 2011)

New Federal Health Care Law Resources (Updated October 2011)

Affordable Care Act: Summary of Provisions Affecting Employer-Sponsored Insurance (Updated October 2011)

Eligibility for Medi-Cal and the Health Insurance Exchange in California under the Affordable Care Act (Updated 8/5/10)

Calculator: How Much Will a Family Spend Under the New Federal Health Law? (Updated 7/8/11)

Federal Health Reform: Impact on California Small Businesses, Their Employees and the Self-Employed (Updated June 2010)

Maximizing Health Care Enrollment through Seamless Coverage for Families in Transition: Current Trends and Policy Implications (March 2011)

View all Labor Center Reports on Health Care »