Catherwood LibraryILR School

As close to 1 million people are still filing for first-time unemployment benefits every week, displaced workers in industries like travel, hospitality and entertainment are finding that they have to refocus their professional skills, often their entire career trajectories, in order to keep making money during the pandemic. While an ordinary recession might leave workers thinking they can’t afford to start over, the pandemic has professionals such as Washington thinking they can’t afford not to. Additionally many workers such as older workers and female workers are completely dropping out of the labor market. Women, specifically, have been disproportionately affected by the child care demands of remote school instructions, with many leaving the workforce or looking for alternatives. A survey by social platform AllBright found that roughly 6 in 10 women said the pandemic had prompted them to consider a career change.