Labor Force Participation

Work-Based Learning: The Key to Next-Generation Talent

Before joining Mercantile Bank a decade ago, Misti Stanton worked in education for 25 years. Today, as Mercantile’s Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,...

Award Highlights TalentFirst’s Contributions to Adult Education

Adult education — in all its forms — is a vital link to our economic and social well-being. It connects people to rewarding, good-paying jobs....

Addressing a Paradox of Better Pay: The ‘Benefits Cliff’

In values that have guided the company for decades, TalentFirst member Haworth puts the importance of its global workforce in writing: “We rely on our...

Inclusive Hiring Offers Solutions for Stability and Sourcing

Despite recent moderation of the hiring market, employers remain in need of consistently reliable sources of talent. Two opportunities in the coming weeks provide resources...

Why Employers See Opportunity in Second-Chance Hiring

The formerly incarcerated offer a ready, willing and able talent pool that too often is overlooked because employers lack the knowledge of how to hire...

We Can’t Afford To Miss This One-Time Chance To Improve Adult Ed

TalentFirst members are at the forefront of driving improvements in Michigan’s adult education system. As employers, they recognize the critical role that adult ed plays...

Investing in Child Care Pays Dividends to Employers — and All of Us

Child care is one of the biggest expenses facing working parents, often costing more than housing or health care. In Michigan, the average annual cost...

Why we’re watching Georgia’s experiment with Medicaid work requirements

Through a series of complex legislative and judicial actions, Georgia in July became the only state to implement work requirements to qualify for expanded Medicaid...

Is the ‘Great Resignation’ over? Data shows the answer is complicated

A recent headline from Axios declared what might appear to be good news for employers: “The Great Resignation is over, quit rates return to pre-pandemic...

We can fix the safety net so everyone benefits

Proposed federal legislation to reform food-stamp work requirements has revived a decades-long debate about the nature of benefits programs and their role in keeping people...