Policymaker Resources

Nontraditional workers make up a growing share of the U.S. workforce. According to consulting firm McKinsey & Co.’s American Opportunity Survey, 36% of employed respondents identified as independent contractors in 2022, up from 27% in 2016.

The digital acceleration and increase in the flexibility of work arrangements spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in contractor utilization by U.S. companies, large and small. This increase occurs against the backdrop of several macroeconomic and technological forces that, taken together, support the increasing utilization of contractors in the labor market.

2021 saw one of the highest number of new business starts in the US – more than 5.4M. Gusto—which runs payroll and benefits for 200,000+ businesses nationwide— surveyed business owners that started-up in 2021 to better understand who started businesses and why during an ongoing pandemic and economic uncertainty.

Business owners of color are more likely to struggle accessing startup funding, growth funding, and capital with affordable interest rates.

America is a place of new stories. A country that still attracts those looking to grow new ideas and that invites our people to invent a better life for themselves, their families, and their communities.

The theme of this year’s Investment Heroes report is the powerful link between high investment and low inflation.

Entrepreneurial inequity is the most unrecognized contributor to the racial wealth gap in the United States.

With the dramatic expansion of the gig economy in the United States, there has been a corresponding debate about how to protect gig workers.

Ask a policymaker about minority-owned small businesses, and they will correctly tell you there are too few, those that do exist often struggle, and COVID had a devastating impact.

On Tuesday, April 27th, PPI hosted a webinar with special guest Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on policies to help women return to the workforce following the devastating effect of the pandemic on women’s labor force participation.

Today’s high school students and young adults face a difficult job market.

The “gig economy” has unlocked a wave of economic value in recent years. The direct impact of independent workers on the economy is almost $1 trillion, or 5% of GDP.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Workforce Programs:
1. Actively engage local business
2. Use labor market data to drive decisions
3. Treat education like a job
4. Connect people to careers
5. Provide wrap-around student services
6. Tap innovative funding sources
7. Embrace Evaluation

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