Right now, companies are not doing much hiring, but they are also not laying off many workers. Is this simply a short-term result of current economic conditions and the pandemic’s aftermath, or does it point to a larger, longer-term shift—one in which the labor market is becoming less active and less fluid than it once was?

If it is the latter, the consequences could be significant. A less fluid labor market could widen the divide between “insiders” and “outsiders” in the workforce. Insiders—those already securely employed—could enjoy even greater job stability, while outsiders could face more difficulty finding steady work, experience more unpredictable employment, or drift further from the labor market altogether.

Join us on Tuesday, November 3, as Bart Hobijn, Chicago Fed vice president and co-director of monetary policy and communications, presents new research on insiders and outsiders in the U.S. labor market and how they are being affected by today's low-hire, low-fire environment. Following the presentation, a panel of experts including

• John Coglianese, Principal Economist in the Labor Markets Section, Federal Reserve Board of Governors,
• Elisabeth Jacobs, Executive Director of WorkRise, the Urban Institute,
• and Martha Ross, Vice President and Director of Brookings Metro, The Brookings Institution,

will discuss what these trends may mean for workers, employers, and policymakers and what they tell us about mobility and opportunity in the labor market. The discussion will be moderated by Donna Borak, director of strategic communications for the NYU Furman Center and journalism professor at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute.