Digging Deeper into Economic Anxiety: Beyond Unemployment and Inflation Rates

This webinar is hosted by the Center for Applied Research on Work at Cornell University’s Industrial Labor Relations School and is the first in a three-part series on findings from the Center’s Empire State Poll.

Until recently, steady performance in macroeconomic indicators like unemployment, inflation, and stock market indices led many experts to conclude that the American economy was relatively healthy. But does this align with how the average person feels about their financial well-being, particularly in New York State.

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In this webinar we’ll hear from experts working across several economic surveys that all point to economic anxiety for individuals and households in New York and across the country. Researchers at Cornell University's ILR School will share results from their most recent Empire State Poll which covered respondents' top concerns and financial outlooks. You'll also hear from Jeff Larrimore from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System about what the latest data from the Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking says about similar questions at the national level. Therese Daly, President & CEO of United Way of New York State, will put these findings in perspective by examining the number and characteristics of New York State residents whose income falls short of a basic survival budget for their area–what the United Way has termed "Asset Limited Income Constrained, Employed," or "ALICE." We will also be joined by Valerie Wilson, Director of the Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy at the Economic Policy Institute, who will contextualize how the trends we’re seeing in the data play out by race and ethnicity, as well as provide insights on potential policy solutions to the concerns respondents are voicing. These surveys provide insight into the apprehension felt by many about their economic security and can serve as a guide to finding more stable economic footing for households across the US.

Speakers include:

• Moderator: Anne Marie Brady, Research Director, Worker Rights and Equity, Worker Institute, Cornell ILR School
• Russell Weaver, Director of Research, Buffalo Co-Lab, Cornell ILR School
• Jeff Larrimore, Chief, Consumer and Community Research Section, Consumer and Community Affairs, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
• Therese Daly, President & CEO, United Way New York State
• Valerie Wilson, Director of the Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy, Economic Policy Institute