Visualizing Vulnerable Jobs Across America

A product of the Brookings Workforce of the Future initiative.

Metro Area

VULNERABLE JOBS IN YOUR CITY

3.1% below national average (19%)

19th

YOUR CITY'S VULNERABILITY RANKING (OUT OF 380 MSAs)

209th

MEDIAN HOURLY WAGE IN YOUR CITY

35% above national average ($19.14)

$27.08

In times of economic uncertainty, data can illuminate local realities and help leaders direct policy action toward workers and industries that need it most. This visualization by the Brookings Workforce of the Future initiative breaks down the number and dispersion of “vulnerable” jobs (jobs that pay low wages and do not provide benefits) for 380 metropolitan statistical areas and all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Understanding vulnerability can give cities and states a sense of how exposed their workers are to the COVID-19 crisis in the short term and help them create long-term recovery strategies.

Select your city or state from the drop-down menu to see a sector-by-sector breakdown of vulnerable workers in your local economy. You can also see how your city or state compares to others by selecting “compare to similar size cities/states” or choosing up to two additional comparison cities/states from the drop-down menus above.

Read more about vulnerable jobs here.

How does your local labor market compare to others?

Take a closer look at vulnerable jobs in a specific sector

Selected sector:

Employment in Hospitality

Vulnerable Jobs in Hospitality

Where are the vulnerable jobs in your city or state?

Vulnerable Jobs by Sector

Metro

Vulnerable Jobs
Other Jobs

Select a sector

Subsectors

Vulnerable Jobs
Other Jobs

For this visualization, we extend an approach outlined by our colleagues in the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, Mark Muro and Jacob Whitton, largely following researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and Cleveland. The data used to create this visualization comes from the 2018 American Community Survey, 2018 and 2019 Occupational Employment Statistics, and Emsi. Click here to download the data.

The Workforce of the Future initiative is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google.org, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

Brookings is committed to quality, independence, and impact in all of its work. The findings and conclusions contained within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of the funders.

Authors