This report specifically draws on the focus group data collected in Las Vegas, which is the 28th largest metropolitan area in the country, with racial diversity matching that expected for the nation by the year 2060. In fall of 2019, the Brookings Future of the Middle Class Initiative conducted focus groups 1 with over 120 middle-class Americans across five locations: Wichita, Kansas, Houston, Texas, Prince George’s County, Maryland, Central Pennsylvania, and Las Vegas, Nevada, with the goal of gaining a fuller understanding of the issues facing the American middle class. Unemployment during the COVID-19 recessionįormer Senior Center Coordinator - Center on Children & Families, Future of the Middle Class Initiative.To this end, we suggest several policy solutions – such as raising the minimum wage, investing in workers’ skills and education, providing paid leave, and encouraging flexibility. More than a year later, it’s helpful to return to the concerns that were bubbling to the surface in 2019 – and reflect on what’s left to do, structurally, to strengthen our system, support workers, and move forward from the pandemic. Much of the policy agenda in the last year has been understandably reactionary, as policymakers addressed immediate issues such as unemployment insurance, keeping workers safe, and emergency economic relief.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted and exacerbated these pre-existing issues for many workers. The middle-class Americans we talked with were concerned about upward mobility, the changing landscape of work as a result of automation and skills training, scheduling uncertainty, and employee benefits like time off and paid leave. In this brief we examine work and work-based policies in Las Vegas, Nevada – a theme that emerged strongly from focus group data collected in the fall of 2019.
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