The Pandemic and America's Young Workers

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While young people ages 16 to 29 make up less than a quarter of the U.S. labor force, they accounted for about a third of the rise in the unemployment rate between February and April of 2020. In a new report below, Stephanie Aaronson and Francisca Alba examine this issue among America's young workers across various industries and demographic groups.

Also in this edition, we look at ways for society to rebuild by bolstering remote health care and our educational systems. We close with a selection of international analysis on COVID-19 and emerging technologies, Africa's response to the crisis, and China's efforts to shape public opinion.

The state of the US workforce

Unemployment among young workers. America's aggregate unemployment rate increased by 11.2 percentage points between February and April. Over the same time period, the unemployment rate for those aged 16 to 19 increased by nearly 21 percentage points. Stephanie Aaronson and Francisca Alba highlight recent trends in youth unemployment and advocate for policies to help the nation's young workers.

Essential workers and unions. Nearly 90% of essential workers lack union representation, limiting their ability to ensure safe workplaces amid COVID-19. Jimmy O'Donnell discusses labor market challenges and the role of unions in protecting vulnerable workers.

How clean energy jobs can drive an equitable recovery. Clean energy jobs offer equitable wages, promote transferable skills, and have lower education barriers to entry, making them crucial for the post-pandemic recovery, Joseph Kane and Ranjitha Shivaram argue.

Rebuilding after the crisis

Making telehealth more permanent after COVID-19. The widespread adoption of telehealth has been one of the few silver linings of the pandemic. Nicol Turner Lee and Niam Yaraghi outline ways to ensure the long-term delivery of telehealth services after the crisis.

The potential of education technology. From prerecorded lessons to remote learning programs, technology can improve the quality of education through its ability to deliver standardized quality content at scale. Alejandro Ganimian and Emiliana Vegas explain how schools can assess their ed tech needs and preparedness.

How education can emerge stronger. "A powered-up public school in every community is what the world's children deserve, and indeed is possible if all stakeholders can collectively work together to harness the opportunities presented by this crisis to truly leapfrog education forward," write Emiliana Vegas and Rebecca Winthrop.

To learn more about this unique moment to transform education, tune in to Monday's webinar at 9:00 AM EDT.

The international landscape

Financing Africa's COVID-19 response. So far, Africa's public-health and economic response has not come anywhere near matching the scale of the COVID-19 crisis. Brahima S. Coulibaly, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Vera Songwe, and their co-authors call for support from the international community.

The new urgency of global tech governance. With the pandemic accelerating trends in digitalization globally, Landry Signé, Mark Esposito, and Sanjeev Khagram take stock of the technologies being used to track, trace, forecast, diagnose, and contain the virus, and discuss what's at stake for international cooperation.

The coronavirus and China's information diplomacy. From its use of "mask diplomacy" to providing financial assistance, Beijing is attempting to portray a more "benevolent" side to its Southeast Asian neighbors amid the pandemic. Audrye Wong assesses this strategy.

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