Presented By: Survey Research Center
SRC Seminar Series - The Quality of Jobs: Evidence from a New Worker Survey
Susan N. Houseman, Senior Economist, W.E. Upjohn Institute

Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | 2:00-3:30pm ET
2:00-3:00 Seminar
3:00-3:30 Questions and Collaboration
1430BD ISR-Thompson
426 Thompson St.
Register to attend
Abstract
Many job attributes affect worker outcomes, yet measures of job quality tend to focus solely on compensation, reflecting the limited information collected in most surveys. The National Job Quality Survey—which was an outgrowth of the 2022 Job Quality Measurement Initiative, a collaboration of foundations and the U.S. Department of Labor—was designed to help fill this gap. The survey instrument was developed by a team of researchers and was first administered by Gallup in January and February 2025 to over 18,000 workers residing in the United States. The survey collected information on five dimensions of job quality: economic security, work conditions including scheduling and job design, work environment and culture, skills development and opportunities for advancement, and worker voice. The survey also collected detailed information on personal characteristics and outcomes and distinguished between workers in employee and various self-employment arrangements. The talk will cover features of the survey’s design and provide an overview of initial findings, including salient findings for special populations, such as those with certain diagnoses and conditions, and differences in job quality among employees, independent contractors, informal workers, and other self-employed workers.
Biography
Susan Houseman is a senior economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Her recent research has focused on nonstandard employment arrangements (e.g., independent contractor, temporary help, and other contract company arrangements), job quality issues, the manufacturing sector, and measurement issues in economic statistics. Currently, she is leading a research team to develop and analyze data from a national job quality panel survey and is a co-organizer for the NBER Conference on Income and Wealth conference on the Changing Nature of Work. She chaired the Technical Advisory Committee to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2012 until the Committee’s termination in March. Houseman received the Society of Labor Economics Prize for Contributions to Data and Measurement in 2023 and was elected to be a 2025 Academic Fellow of the Labor and Employment Relations Association. She received her Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.
2:00-3:00 Seminar
3:00-3:30 Questions and Collaboration
1430BD ISR-Thompson
426 Thompson St.
Register to attend
Abstract
Many job attributes affect worker outcomes, yet measures of job quality tend to focus solely on compensation, reflecting the limited information collected in most surveys. The National Job Quality Survey—which was an outgrowth of the 2022 Job Quality Measurement Initiative, a collaboration of foundations and the U.S. Department of Labor—was designed to help fill this gap. The survey instrument was developed by a team of researchers and was first administered by Gallup in January and February 2025 to over 18,000 workers residing in the United States. The survey collected information on five dimensions of job quality: economic security, work conditions including scheduling and job design, work environment and culture, skills development and opportunities for advancement, and worker voice. The survey also collected detailed information on personal characteristics and outcomes and distinguished between workers in employee and various self-employment arrangements. The talk will cover features of the survey’s design and provide an overview of initial findings, including salient findings for special populations, such as those with certain diagnoses and conditions, and differences in job quality among employees, independent contractors, informal workers, and other self-employed workers.
Biography
Susan Houseman is a senior economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Her recent research has focused on nonstandard employment arrangements (e.g., independent contractor, temporary help, and other contract company arrangements), job quality issues, the manufacturing sector, and measurement issues in economic statistics. Currently, she is leading a research team to develop and analyze data from a national job quality panel survey and is a co-organizer for the NBER Conference on Income and Wealth conference on the Changing Nature of Work. She chaired the Technical Advisory Committee to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2012 until the Committee’s termination in March. Houseman received the Society of Labor Economics Prize for Contributions to Data and Measurement in 2023 and was elected to be a 2025 Academic Fellow of the Labor and Employment Relations Association. She received her Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.