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upjohninstitute.bsky.social
Upjohn Institute
@upjohninstitute.bsky.social
4.4K followers 990 following 770 posts
The W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research is a nonpartisan, independent research organization, founded in 1945 to study policy-related employment issues and to implement workforce solutions. Based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. https://www.upjohn.org/
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upjohninstitute.bsky.social
While the situation is most striking in the Midwest, every region has seen increases in the number of counties with falling populations over the past few decades.
A graph showing the percentage of counties in each region of the United States that have lost population since the 1970. The 2019 value for the Midwest is just above 40%, Nationally just below 30%, around 20% for the Northeast and South, and around 15% for the West.
November 14, 2025 at 3:48 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
@mmilleradams.bsky.social, @bradhershbein.bsky.social, @kathleenbolter.bsky.social, Bridget Timmeney, and Kyle Huisman, all had a a great time. We can’t wait for the next one!
November 11, 2025 at 4:42 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
@kathleenbolter.bsky.social had the one of the most in demand sessions with her promise programs trivia game.
A woman addressing a crowd Adults at tables discussing trivia.
November 10, 2025 at 9:17 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
@bradhershbein.bsky.social spoke on a panel about the best ways for promise programs to meet the needs of adult learners.
A man in a suit faces left.
November 10, 2025 at 9:11 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
@mmilleradams.bsky.social leads a seminar on how place based scholarships can adapt to changing circumstances.
A smiling woman speaks into a microphone. She wears a lanyard.
November 10, 2025 at 5:11 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
Promise Net 2025 is kicking off in Kalamazoo! Several of the Upjohn Institute’s own will be speaking today alongside other experts and leaders in the promise movement. #Promisenet2025 #Yourpathyourpromise
A rising sun over two hills. The text reads “Promise Net Kalamazoo Michigan 2025”.
November 10, 2025 at 2:35 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
"Rx Kids is an example of how a program designed to improve public health can also produce economic benefits for the community.”
- @bradhershbein.bsky.social, Upjohn Institute

Read the Upjohn Institute's analysis of the progam:
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
October 31, 2025 at 7:41 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
A new analysis by the Upjohn Institute finds that the Rx Kids program delivers measurable economic benefits to families and the broader local economy in Flint, Michigan. Read the full report
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
October 30, 2025 at 2:11 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
Our CEO Mike Horrigan kicked off the #ManufacturingMomentum Summit facilitating today’s keynote session. One of Mike’s questions: “Does workforce need to have a better understanding of what manufacturers are requiring for jobs? What is the role of education for advanced manufacturing?”
August 5, 2025 at 3:42 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
College has gotten more expensive for all Americans, but families feel the effect differently depending on their income level. Low-income families paid a much larger share of their annual income. (1/2)
Chart showing college costs as percentage of income, by quartile, 1996 to 2020. Bottom income quartile is highest line, around 60 percent, with others below 40 percent
July 30, 2025 at 5:42 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
If you build good transit, workers will ride it! @justintyndall.bsky.social studied the Honolulu Skyline rail line, predicting that both high- and low-income workers will increasingly shift to transit following the line's opening. www.upjohn.org/research-hig... (1/3)
July 29, 2025 at 1:17 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
Friday is the application deadline for our 2025 Dissertation Award, given to the best policy-focused Ph.D. dissertation on employment-related issues. First prize is $2,500 and up to two honorable mention awards of $1,000 may also be given.
Details at www.upjohn.org/dissertation...
Aerial view of college campus, with river in background
July 16, 2025 at 3:39 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
Apply by Friday for our 2025 Dissertation Award, given to best doctoral dissertation on employment issues with a substantial policy focus. You can apply if your dissertation was accepted from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2025.
Details: www.upjohn.org/dissertation...
Campus building viewed through trees, light sky
July 14, 2025 at 2:50 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
The application deadline is July 19 for our 2025 Dissertation Award, given to the best Ph.D. dissertation on employment issues. The dissertation may come from any academic discipline, but it must have a substantial policy focus. Details at www.upjohn.org/dissertation...
University campus with bike racks, one bike, sidewalks, trees, ivy
July 11, 2025 at 6:04 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
Private-sector hiring rates are down 4.3 over the year, near a record low, while public-sector hiring rates have held even (but are down 5.5 percent from pre-COVID days). Latest from the New Hires Quality Index:
www.upjohn.org/news/public-...

#NHQI #Econsky
NHQI hires volume per capita showing huge decline in private sector and the public sector line steady
July 2, 2025 at 5:21 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
Calculations from @timbartik.bsky.social show Tulsa's remote worker attraction program is six times more efficient at creating jobs than typical business incentives. Remote workers can settle anywhere with broadband, while businesses have more barriers to uprooting.
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
Cost per job created: tulsa remote 36k; business incentives 218k, ~1/6. infographic.
June 17, 2025 at 3:24 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
The Tulsa housing market responds to increased population, providing more housing to accommodate newcomers without large increases in local housing prices. The result could be much different in communities where zoning and other barriers make housing hard to build.
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
Graphic showing ROI under different housing restrictions, ranging from -2.9, highly restrictive, to 8.1, no restrictions. There were enough homes built to keep up with the growing population.
May 25, 2025 at 6:20 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
Many cities pay remote workers to relocate there, but their money is best spent on workers who wouldn't have moved there without the payment. For one program, Tulsa Remote, research finds that 58 to 70 percent of workers wouldn't have moved there otherwise. www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
graphic: 58 percent of Tulsa Remoters moved to Tulsa because of the program
May 22, 2025 at 12:24 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
A program offers selected remote workers $10,000 to move to Tulsa and stay for at least one year. Research finds the program also creates many jobs indirectly, through increased local spending and entrepreneurship.
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
Graphic for every 100 workers who move to Tulsa, 60 more jobs are created in the area
May 21, 2025 at 6:48 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
As the remote-work boom let people live anywhere, communities took a new economic development approach: attract workers to their borders without needing to lure their employers. Tulsa has had success with that strategy, new research from @timbartik.bsky.social finds.
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
Graph: Tulsa Remote Return on Investment for every $1 spent: $4.31, with a large share of benefits going to lower 60 percent of earners.
May 20, 2025 at 7:23 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
How widespread are disadvantaged communities, and how can governments help create more jobs there? Tim Bartik, an Upjohn Institute senior economist and leading expert in place-based policies, answers both questions in a new brief for @equitablegrowth.bsky.social
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
Bluescale map of distressed U.S. labor markets: darkest, most severely distressed thickest in south, west, but pockets elsewhere
May 15, 2025 at 10:44 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
Struggling communities need sound economic policies, regardless of how those policies align with politics, our
@timbartik.bsky.social tells the @equitablegrowth.bsky.social populism forum.
Tim Bartik, right, answers a question on a five-person panel at WCEG forum
May 13, 2025 at 6:58 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
The Kalamazoo Promise provides a 10-year eligibility window and more than half of eligible scholars received some credential when at the end of that window. Eighty percent of those credentials have been bachelor's degrees. Read the latest data update for more.
www.upjohn.org/kalamazoo-pr...
graph showing 392 scholars with a certificate, 771 with an associate degree and 2,815 with a bachelor's degree
May 9, 2025 at 7:26 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
Graduates in the free-tuition Kalamazoo Promise program were more likely than graduates from similar districts to enroll in college within six months after graduation.
From the latest data update:
www.upjohn.org/kalamazoo-pr...
May 8, 2025 at 1:19 PM
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
The big takeaway from this child care research, @aaronsojourner.org says, is that increased investment in families’ ability to choose and access private providers does increase the quantity of care available in the community without much increase in the price of care:
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
Grab of Q and A. Click link to read actual q and a
April 30, 2025 at 7:53 PM