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Labor Market Policies

Labor market policies and programs shape the rules governing the dynamics between employers and employees

Labor market policies and programs help shape outcomes for low- and moderate-income workers. For example, rules about occupational licensure and non-compete contracts can affect access to jobs. Workforce services programs and unemployment insurance can support workers while they look for employment. We conduct research to provide leaders with high-quality information as they make decisions that matter for workers, employers, and the overall labor market. Our focus is on the impacts of both long-established labor market policies and new initiatives.

Minneapolis Fed research on the City of Minneapolis Guaranteed Basic Income pilot

In 2022, the City of Minneapolis began a guaranteed basic income pilot that included $500 monthly payments to 200 recipients over a two-year period. To learn what effects this pilot may have on its participants, the city selected the Minneapolis Fed to conduct a rigorous evaluation through a randomized controlled trial. The Minneapolis Fed’s role in this project is as a neutral, trusted research body working in the public interest to study policies affecting labor market dynamics in low- and moderate-income communities. Research and insights are intended to inform policymakers, researchers, and others who seek to understand the potential impacts and tradeoffs of basic income programs.

Project resources:

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A young male electrician wearing an olive green tee shirt and gray baseball cap is seen from the side as he installs an electrical box on the exterior of a house. The house has sage green siding with white trim and stone accents. The electrician's metal ladder is visible in the background, resting against the side of the house.
What new data tell us about the growth of occupational licensure

Juliet Cramer | Associate Data Scientist, Community Development and Engagement

Ryan Nunn | Assistant Vice President, Community Development and Engagement
December 19, 2025
Article
Staff Reports
Final Report for the Enhanced Services Pilot of the Montana Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment ProgramAyushi Narayan | Economist, Community Development and EngagementRyan Nunn | Assistant Vice President, Community Development and Engagement

Maxine Xu | Data Scientist, Community Development and Engagement

December 17, 2025
Research
Staff Reports
The Early Labor Market Impacts of Minnesota’s 2023 Non-Compete Enforcement BanAyushi Narayan | Economist, Community Development and EngagementRyan Nunn | Assistant Vice President, Community Development and Engagement
November 26, 2025
Research
Inside a metal fabrication workshop, a male worker leans forward and holds a long, narrow sheet of steel in place on one end of a large metal press. The machine and the worker are seen in profile, with the worker wearing a black jacket, gray cap, gray protective gloves, and safety glasses. A second worker can be seen out of focus in the background, securing the other end of the steel panel.
Who gets unemployment benefits for shared work?

Shelby Cook | Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency

Leonidas Murembya | Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency

Ayushi Narayan | Economist, Community Development and EngagementRyan Nunn | Assistant Vice President, Community Development and Engagement
September 30, 2025
Article
Collage image including an overhead image of workers at a table and an image of a puzzle
Cutting Hours Instead of Cutting Jobs: Shared Work Within the Unemployment Insurance System
Event on July 15, 2025
Event
In a brightly lit office space, two women, cropped mostly out of view except for their hands, sit across from one another at a wooden desk and gesture over a folder of documents that lies open on the desktop. The woman in the foreground holds one of the documents up for the other woman to review and sign.
How litigation shapes non-compete contracts’ effects on workersTyler Boesch | Data Scientist, Community Development and Engagement (former)Ayushi Narayan | Economist, Community Development and EngagementRyan Nunn | Assistant Vice President, Community Development and Engagement
July 9, 2025
Article
Video stills of the four speakers from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis' April 9, 2025, webinar titled "Understanding Access to Unemployment Insurance" are arranged in a two-by-two grid. Appearing clockwise from the upper left are Julia Dale of Civilla; Jennifer Phillips of the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, Georgetown University; Beth Townsend of Iowa Workforce Development; and Andrew Stettner of The Century Foundation.
Data drive updates to state unemployment insurance systemsCaryn Mohr | Senior Writer, Community Development and Engagement
May 16, 2025
Article
Photo on left side of image: In a brightly lit meeting space, a seated woman wearing glasses and a light-colored suit gestures with her hands as she speaks to an unseen colleague. Illustration on right side of image: In a blank white space, an isolated woman in a dark suit stands with her hands on her hips as she gazes up at a set of massive, interlocking metal gears located above her.
Understanding Access to Unemployment Insurance
Event on April 9, 2025
Event
Photo on left side of image: A close-up of a woman's hands resting atop a wooden table. Her fists are balled up against one another in an expression of worry or tension, and the sleeves of her gray cable-knit sweater are pulled up to the base of her fingers. Photo on right side of image: A view looking down at the photographer's lower legs and shoes as she stands on a wet, blacktopped playground surface that's painted with white arrows pointing in different directions. She wears black leggings and bright red sneakers with white laces and soles.
How low-income women experience the unemployment insurance systemMary Hogan | Special Projects Lead

Amalea Jubara | Research Assistant, Center for Indian Country Development

April 3, 2025
Article
Photo on left side of image: A man in a denim-blue button-down shirt sits at his kitchen table with his chin in his folded hands, looking intently at his laptop screen. Photo on right side of image: Close-up of a tall, hastily stacked pile of paperwork, some of it with brightly colored Post-It flags and notes attached.
Administrative processes shape unemployment insurance accessAyushi Narayan | Economist, Community Development and Engagement
March 18, 2025
Article
Left side of image: A woman in a turquoise short walks down a row of low-wall cubicles in an airy, brightly lit, but empty office space. Right side of image: Layered close-ups show a map of the United States, with the states outlined in white and filled in solid shades of blue, green, and orange; and visual details from the front side of a $20 bill.
How unemployment insurance access and benefits vary by stateAyushi Narayan | Economist, Community Development and EngagementRyan Nunn | Assistant Vice President, Community Development and Engagement
January 7, 2025
Article
Institute paper key images
How Do Low-Income Households Respond to Basic Income? Experimental Evidence from MinneapolisAndrew Goodman-Bacon | Principal Research Economist, InstituteVanessa Palmer | Data Director, Center for Indian Country Development
December 20, 2024
Research