[April 22, 2014]

MIT Sloan to Hold National Conference on Long-Term Unemployment

Although the short-term unemployment rate in the U.S. is receding to pre-recession levels, long-term unemployment remains at levels unseen since the Great Depression. Nearly 4 million people have now been out of a job for more than six months. To address this crisis, its underlying causes and potential solutions, MIT (News - Alert) Sloan School of Management's Institute for Work and Employment Research is holding a conference on May 6 for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners.

"This will be the first national gathering of its kind to bring together these groups of experts to discuss long-term unemployment," says MIT Sloan School of Management Prof. Ofer Sharone. "There are millions of people left out of the workforce who want to contribute. This is devastating families because of the loss of income, it's emotionally devastating individuals, and it's hurting our economy. We need to find solutions that work and solve this problem."

The conference stems from a project by Sharone at the Institute for Career Transitions in which he is connecting long-term unemployed individuals with volunteer career coaches. Tracking their outcomes, he's hoping to determine which strategies work. In addition to discussing early results from this project, the conference will bring together representatives from the most promising programs across the U.S. that support the long-term unemployed, along with policymakers and thought leaders on this issue.

Additional speakers at the event include:

• Eric Seleznow, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor
• Rachel Kaprielian, Mass. Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development
• Benjamin Seigel, Deputy Director of the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, U.S. Department of Labor
• Jennifer James, Mass. Undersecretary for Workforce Development
• Emily Allen, Vice President, Income, AARP Foundation
• George Wentworth, Senior Staff Attorney, National Employment Law Project
• John Fugazzie, Founder and President, Neighbors-Helping-Neighbors
• Joan Cirillo, President and CEO, Operation Able, Boston
• Joe Carbone, of Platform to Employment
• Jerry Rubin, President and CEO, Jewish Vocational Services of Boston
• Rand Ghayad, Author, The Jobless Trap; Visiting Scholar, Boston Federal Reserve
• Prof. David Blustein, Boston College
• Mary Gatta, Senior Scholar, Wider Opportunities for Women; Author, All I Want is a Job: Unemployed Women Navigating the Public Workforce System

The conference will be held from 9:00am - 3:30pm at MIT's Morss Hall in the Walker Memorial Building. Members of the media are invited to attend, but pre-registration is requested. To register, please contact Michelle Rosin at [email protected].

To learn more about Prof. Sharone, please visit: http://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/detail.php?in_spseqno=41284

To learn more about MIT Sloan's Institute for Work and Employment Research, please visit: http://mitsloan.mit.edu/group/iwer/

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