Stevenson is a labor economist who publishes widely about the labor market and the impact of public policies on outcomes both in the labor market and for families. Her research explores women's labor market experiences, the economic forces shaping the modern family, and how these experiences and forces influence each other. She served as the chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor from 2010 to 2011, participating as the secretary's deputy to the White House economic team.
From A.I. to zero emissions
Ford School faculty host and are featured in a variety of podcasts, covering policy topics from artificial intelligence, everyday economics, national security, and more.
My job has always been to demonstrate to...
Ford School experts share insights as the clock ticks down toward a U.S. government default—and whether a deal can keep a financial concern from devolving into a full-blown crisis.
They discuss where things stand with the debt-limit debate...
In April, U.S. total nonfarm employment rose by 253,000 jobs, which exceeded expectations as the economy continued to expand.. However, revisions to data from the past two months subtracted 149,000 jobs, which is indicative of a labor market that is...
Dominique Adams-Santos, Celeste Watkins-Hayes, and PhD candidate Kayonne Christy contributed a chapter, "Narratives in Context: Locating Racism and Sexism in Black Women's Health Experiences," to The Routledge Companion to...
Betsey Stevenson uses the tools of her trade to empower people and improve lives
By Daniel Rivkin
An early March ice storm in Michigan caused widespread power outages and disruptions for hundreds of thousands of households. Families had to...
Betsey Stevenson, CNN: "The policy is designed to make sure workers as well as companies benefit from this federal investment. Another way to think about it is that we really need government involved in child...
Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released their monthly jobs report. Betsey Stevenson lent her expertise to numerous media outlets to break down what she saw.
"This report is just about as good as it can be. It's slowing slightly, and...
In March, employers added 236,000 jobs as the economy continued to expand. Job growth is slowing, with most job growth in the past month occurring in the sectors that have been the slowest to recover from the pandemic. The unemployment rate ticked...
Betsey Stevenson, CNBC: "What we've been seeing is a massive reallocation of workers. First, we expanded how much stuff we were buying, so the goods sector just did remarkably well early on in the pandemic. And it was the service sector that got...
Betsey Stevenson, States News Service: "I think that the important takeaway is that women can be an important source of labor for the construction industry. While child care is important for women, it is equally important to note that construction...
The collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) set off alarms in the financial sector, with flashbacks to the 2008 financial crisis and increased worries about an impending recession. Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers, both professors of public...
Betsey Stevenson, ABC Australia: "We had [Dodd Frank] regulations put in certain stress tests that banks needed to meet certain liquidity requirements, certain capitalization requirements, and those were for anybody with anything that's over $US50...
Betsey Stevenson, Bloomberg: "I think sticking with 25 basis points is hopefully going to be sending the signal that they (the Federal Reserve) really do believe that the situation is stabilizing. That they don't need to veer from their planned...
The U.S. labor market grew by 311,000 jobs in February. Unemployment ticked up to 3.6%, while the number of employed expanded and the labor force participation rate also ticked up. Since October 2022, labor force participation has expanded slowly...
Betsey Stevenson, Bloomberg: "I think it's really hard to interpret the impact of the interest rate increases on the labor market. And the reason is that we would have to know the counterfactual—what would have happened in the labor market if we...
As the United States heads toward its debt-ceiling deadline, political leaders are posturing as they struggle to find a compromise to prevent default. In response, over 200 U.S. economists, including Professor Betsey Stevenson, sent a letter to...
Betsey Stevenson, NPR Marketplace: "This is one of those things where we all have rules of thumb, because they’re just easier to remember. So the first Friday of the month is way easier to remember than the actual...
Betsey Stevenson, The New Yorker: "People always hate inflation. Even when inflation was at historic lows, survey data showed that eighty-three percent of Americans thought inflation was a problem. The President has very few levers. And, in this...
Betsey Stevenson, NPR Marketplace: "Are employers trying to hire a bunch of phantoms — people who don’t exist? Are they just finding it too hard to find...
Betsey Stevenson, The Wall Street Journal: "Since restaurants and hotels haven’t staffed up too much, they could avoid the fate of many tech companies that are laying off workers after overhiring earlier in the pandemic," said Betsey Stevenson, an...
As the 118th Congress begins, Americans’ trust in Congress and government is at an all-time low. Economist Betsey Stevenson lends her expertise to members of Congress in a new article for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
First, Stevenson says,...
Betsey Stevenson, NPR: "The thing about inflation is it hurts us all a little 'cause it's terrible, right? You go to the store, and we're all talking about the price of eggs. We feel it. We feel rents going up and food prices going up, but, you...
Betsey Stevenson, Washington Post: "There's this reshuffling going on that is explaining why lots of industries can't find workers. Their workers have left to go somewhere...
Employers added 517,000 jobs in January 2023, capping a year marked by record-low unemployment and high job growth. The unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, a low last seen in 1969, according to new data released today by the Bureau of Labor...
Betsey Stevenson, Bloomberg: "The truth is, this is a great number, 517,000 jobs, but there's a lot of room for error in this report. And if I was a betting woman, I would tell you that we'll probably see this corrected down a little bit. So I think...
Betsey Stevenson, New York Times: "Basically, the hesitation and confusion that I think made it harder for employers and workers to find each other in the early parts of the recovery has started to abate. People are applying for jobs, and employers...
Betsey Stevenson, NPR Marketplace: "I think it’s a reflection of an ongoing need to move back towards an economy that looks a little bit more like 2019. In terms of the mix of the types of goods and services that people buy."
In other words, too...
President Santa J. Ono is honoring University of Michigan faculty members Betsey Stevenson and Lilia Cortina with the 2022 presidential awards for public engagement.
The awards recognize the recipients’ demonstrated commitment to public service,...
Betsey Stevenson, Yahoo! News: "They hired for magical thinking. So what they're having to do right now is readjust for reality. As you've already shown, the layoffs we're seeing here are small compared to not just the hiring they did during 2020...
