June 2023

Current Level is 85.47 | Change From Last Month +0.83%

Grapg of the JQI showing an overall downward trend, with an upward trend beginning around March 2010

Based on JQI data report as of July 7, 2023.


About the JQI

The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI) assesses job quality in the United States by measuring desirable higher-wage/higher-hour jobs versus lower-wage/lower-hour jobs. The JQI results also may serve as a proxy for the overall health of the U.S. jobs market, since the index enables month-by-month tracking of the direction and degree of change in high-to-low job composition.

By tracking this information, policymakers and financial market participants can be more fully informed of past developments, current trends, and likely future developments in the absence of policy intervention. Economists and international organizations have in recent years developed other, complementary conceptions of job quality such as those addressing the emotional satisfaction employees derive from their jobs.

For the purposes of this JQI, “job quality” means the weekly dollar-income a job generates for an employee. Payment, after all, is a primary reason why people work: the income generated by a job being necessary to maintain a standard of living, to provide for the essentials of life and, hopefully, to save for retirement, among other things.

JQ-Instant

Bar chart showing the JQI Instant levels, shows an increase in the percentage of high quality jobs as compared to low quality jobs.

JQI Explainer Video

The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index Explanatory Slide Deck

Download a PDF of the slide deck from JQI

Media Mentions

+ March 2022
  • Harvard Business Review, Workers Don’t Feel Like a 9-to-5 Job Is a Safe Bet Anymore
+ June 2021
  • Street Insider: U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® May 2021
  • TNR: We Regret to Inform You That Workers Are Not Suddenly Winning
+ February 2021
  • Cision PRWeb: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® January 2021
  • Yahoo Finance: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® January 2021
+ January 2021
  • Benzinga: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® December 2020
  • Cision PRWeb: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® December 2020
+ December 2020
  • Insurance News Net: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI) November 2020
+ November 2020
  • Benzinga: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® October 2020
  • Cision PRWeb: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® October 2020
  • Yahoo Finance: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® October 2020
+ October 2020
  • Center for American Progress: A Multiple Measures Approach to Workforce Equity 
  • Red Green and Blue: September jobs report: Coronavirus recovery is NOT on pace
  • Yahoo Finance: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® September 2020
  • Yahoo Finance: New Cornell-JQI-RIWI Survey Questions the True, Real-Time U.S. Jobs Picture on the Eve of the Election
  • City A.M.: US election: Trumpism won the argument on US economic policy
+ September 2020
  • Detroit News: Trump’s jobs record fell short of promises even before the virus
  • Yahoo Finance: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® August 2020
  • Forbes: GM Leads In Shipping Jobs To Mexico; Company Shifting Focus To China
+ August 2020
  • Business Insider: Black and Latino workers are more likely to lose their jobs in the 2nd wave of COVID-19 layoffs, study finds
  • Forbes: Consumer Confidence Bouncing Back Even As Coronavirus Fears Remain
  • Cheddar: Unemployed Again: 2nd Wave of Coronavirus-Driven Layoffs Underway, Say Economists
  • Industrial Distribution: Second Wave of Coronavirus Layoffs Is Here
  • Food Manufacturing: Second Wave of Coronavirus Layoffs Is Here
  • Manufacturing Business Technology: Second Wave of Coronavirus Layoffs Is Here
  • New York News: Study shows second wave of layoffs underway
  • Axios: July’s jobs report could be an inflection point for the coronavirus recovery
  • New York Times: Coming Next: The Greater Recession
  • National Review: The Capital Note: COVID’s Casualties
  • Business Insider: Nearly one third of people that have gone back to work after being laid off during the coronavirus pandemic have lost their jobs again, study finds
  • Yahoo Finance: New Cornell-JQI-RIWI Survey Shows A Second Wave of U.S. Layoffs and Furloughs is Well Under Way
  • CNBC: Stock market live Tuesday: Dow up 150 points, Nasdaq record close, stimulus talks continue
  • Forbes: A Second Wave Of Layoffs Is Coming As Lockdowns Persist
  • The Hill: Survey finds nearly one-third of rehired workers laid off again
+ July 2020
  • Martinsville Bulletin: AP Explains: 5 key takeaways from a strong June jobs report
  • Benzinga: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® June 2020
  • AP News: AP Explains: 5 key takeaways from a strong June jobs report
  • WRAL WireTech: Analyzing big jobs report – the good, the bad, the ugly
  • Yahoo Finance: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® June 2020
  • Wilson County News: US Adds 4.8 Million Jobs as Economy Regains Some Pre-COVID Employment
+ June 2020
  • Alkhaleej Today: Arab News recording exposes Nissan lawyer’s lie on IMF bailout for Lebanon
  • PR Web: Statement #3 from the U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (“JQI”) Team on Economic Impacts of COVID-19 Related Unemployment
  • Yahoo Finance: Statement #3 from the U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (“JQI”) Team on Economic Impacts of COVID-19 Related Unemployment
  • Arab News: US workers face an unequal future when virus recedes
  • Yahoo Finance: America’s job crisis amid coronavirus is having a ‘disproportionate impact’ on black Americans
  • ABC13: New unemployment claims decline, but economists project long, slow recovery from outbreak
  • Business Insider: Friday’s May jobs report surprised economists. It could be a sign that the government’s program to rescue small businesses is paying off
  • International Business Times: Is The US Economy Recovering From The Coronavirus? Experts Say It’s Too Early To Declare Victory Despite Jobs Report
  • Markets Insider: The US faces not a V-shaped recovery but a ‘reverse tick shape’ after shocking jobs data, analysts say
  • PR Web: The U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® May 2020
  • Business Insider:The US faces not a V-shaped recovery but a ‘reverse tick shape’ after shocking jobs data, analysts say
  • International Business Times: Is The US Economy Recovering From The Coronavirus? Experts Say It’s Too Early To Declare Victory Despite Jobs Report
  • Business Insider: The US Government is refusing to say which businesses received over $500 billion in coronavirus bailout loans
  • Bloomberg: U.S. Jobs Focus Shifts Back to Losses After May’s Surprise Gain
  • Pineville Voice: US workers face an unequal future when virus recedes
+ May 2020
  • Statesman News: Two Views: Don’t raise taxes when Texans can least afford it
  • Business Insider: Wages are about to jump faster than ever in history — for all the wrong reasons
  • ABC 11: Economic downturns, like the one during the COVID-19 pandemic, hit harder in communities of color
  • NY Post: Unemployment rate hits record 14.7% with 20.5M jobs lost in April
  • San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area gig workers join 3.17 million filing for unemployment in US
  • Yahoo Finance: Breaking – Nonfarm Payrolls Fell 20.5 Million in April; Jobless Rate at 14.7%
  • Tom’s Guide: How to spend your stimulus check wisely — what experts are saying
  • MarketWatch: Opinion: Why the ‘great’ jobs market was always an illusion
  • Tom’s Guide: Stimulus check 2: Second round payment date, status and news
  • Live Mint: US employees face an unequal future when coronavirus recedes
  • The Straits Times: US workers face an unequal future when coronavirus recedes
  • AlKhaleej Today: US workers face an unequal future when virus recedes
+ April 2020
  • Lane Report: Depth of recession depends on containment of COVID-19, says UofL health economist
  • Christian Science Monitor: Faces of the new jobs crisis, from restaurants to real estate
  • Vox: 11 questions about the coronavirus economic crisis you were too embarrassed to ask
  • CS Monitor: Faces of the new jobs crisis, from restaurants to real estate
  • CNBC: The jobs numbers have been so bad that even the good news is bad news
  • Yahoo Finance: U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® March 2020
  • Benziga: U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® March 2020
  • Nikkei Asian Review: Signs of flattening in New York trigger massive stock rally
  • Penn Live Patriot News: Small businesses show large appetite for federal payroll loans to keep workforce intact during coronavirus closures
  • Investor’s Business Daily:As Coronavirus Shutdown Ends, Get Ready For The Masked Economy
  • Eater: By the Numbers: How the Coronavirus Pandemic Continues to Devastate the Restaurant Industry
  • Business Insider: The coronavirus shows it’s time to reshape the relationship between the US government and American workers
  • FX Street: US: Unemployment rate could be the highest ever – ANZ
  • Business Insider Nordic: As the coronavirus crisis continues, more tech workers are feeling concerned about their jobs …
  • CFO Magazine: Jobless Claims Hit Record 22M Over Four Weeks
  • The Guardian: Five million more Americans file jobless claims as Covid-19 downturn deepens – business live
  • Business Insider:  US weekly jobless claims hit 5.2 million, wiping out all jobs created since the Great Recession in just 4 weeks
  • Fox Business: US now has 22 million unemployed workers, but millions more may be impacted by the losses
  • WSJ:Newsletter: China’s Economy Contracts, Foreshadows Pain to Come
  • Search Engine Journal: 17 Ways to Help Small Businesses Impacted by COVID-19
  • USA Today: Key swing states Michigan and Pennsylvania are among hardest hit by coronavirus-fueled job losses
  • Mic: Even with bailouts and eviction freezes, another housing crisis is coming
  • PR Web: Second Statement From the U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (“JQI”) Team on Vulnerabilities of Jobs to the COVID-19 Economic Shutdown
  • Yahoo Finance: Second Statement From the U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (“JQI”) Team on Vulnerabilities of Jobs to the COVID-19 Economic Shutdown
  • DevOps: Metropolis Now: The Two Worlds of Employment in the Age of Automation
  • NY Times: Coronavirus puts 4.4 million more out of work, bringing crisis total to 26 million
  • CBS News: Layoffs move from restaurants to warehouses and law offices
  • Yellow HammerAlabama legislators react to first phase of reopening Alabama’s economy
+ March 2020
  • PR Web: U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® February 2020
  • Business Insider: The US government has never had a better opportunity to truly reshape our economy
  • Business Insider: American workers are more vulnerable than ever to crises like the novel coronavirus
  • LA Times: Some employers are doing the right thing in the coronavirus crisis. Some aren’t
  • Governing:Coronavirus Reveals Inequalities Across Employer Benefits
  • Yahoo Finance: JQI estimates over 37 million U.S. jobs may be vulnerable to potential layoffs in the short term
  • Asian Review: Dow erases Trump-era gains as tougher restrictions expand
  • Cision PR: Statement from the U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (“JQI”) Team on Vulnerabilities of Jobs in Certain Sectors to the COVID-19 Economic Shutdown
  • Market Watch: The coronavirus crisis could see 37 million jobs lost, and these workers will be the hardest hit, chart shows
  • Financial TimesThis time, small guys should get the bailouts
  • Central Banking: A Vaccine for a Global Economy
  • Chicago Now: The coronavirus cure is worse than the disease — II
  • WishTv: Monday’s business headlines
  • Brinkwire:Coronavirus US: Over 37 MILLION jobs could be lost
  • Daily Mail:How the rich stay rich: Jeff Bezos and other top executives offloaded shares just in time before the pandemic slashed company values, saving them billions
  • Daily Mail: Morgan Stanley warns Trump that reopening the country too soon could BACKFIRE because it will increase the peak in infections, and projects 30% plunge in GDP next quarter
  • RT:Covid-19 lockdown threatens to destroy 37 MILLION jobs in US
  • MarketWatch: A day of reckoning nears for the stock market if a coronavirus rescue deal isn’t sealed before a Thursday labor report, says BTIG analysts
  • The Philadelphia Tribune: Some businesses ramping up hiring during the coronavirus outbreak
  • Vox: How the coronavirus crisis will hit American workers, in one chart
  • International Business Times: Infographic: Coronavirus Outbreak Puts 37 Million US Jobs At Risk
  • ForbesUNESCO: COVID-19 School Closures Have Impacted Nearly 1.4 Billion Students [Infographic]
  • OAN: Study: President Trump Could Create 800K Jobs, Reduce Drug Prices By Bringing Pharma Manufacturing Back To The U.S.
  • Desert News:Guest opinion: Coronavirus reveals need to rebuild USA-made medicine production
  • Yahoo Finance: Paytouch Partnering with UberEats and Local Restaurants to Boost Delivery Orders During COVID-19 Lockdown
  • Tasnim News AgencyUS May Be Headed for Highest Unemployment Ever
  • The Hour: Another housing crisis is coming – and bailouts and eviction freezes won’t be enough to prevent many from losing their homes
  • Richmond Times: Editorial: COVID-19’s stranglehold on our economy
  • Yahoo Money: Government to Give Americans Up to $1200 Each Under Massive Coronavirus Relief Plan
  • Yahoo Finance: Paytouch Partnering with UberEats and Local Restaurants to Boost Delivery Orders During COVID …
  • Money: Here’s How Congress Is Trying to Protect Your Credit Score During the Coronavirus Crisis
  • Atlantic Council: Coronavirus crisis sends shockwaves through US labor market
  • KQED: Sex Workers Are Moving Online, Supporting Each Other During Coronavirus
  • Stockton Records: Tough times call for tough decisions
  • Barrons: Low-Wage Workers Need Fast Relief to Maintain ‘Law and Order,’ Says Banker
  • MarketWatch: What life is like now for the 3 million Americans suddenly out of work
  • MarketWatch: Americans struggle with sudden job loss from coronavirus
  • Infographic: Coronavirus Outbreak Puts 37 Million US Jobs At Risk
  • : Don’t Buy Dips, Buy Bonds as US Markets Will Extend Plunge
  • Penn Live: Coronavirus has infected the economy, hitting hourly workers and small business owners the hardest
+ February 2020
  • CounterPunch: Enemies of Democracy: Neoliberalism and Authoritarian Finance
  • WAMC: Michael Meeropol: The Data On The Economy Hides An Important Failure For Wage Earners
  • GRBJ: Technology hurts wages in hospitality industry
  • The Guardian: US jobs report: record-breaking streak continues as 225,000 added in January
  • Yahoo Finance:U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index Revised to 82.68 from Previous Month – Reflecting a Lower Proportion of U.S. Production and Non-Supervisory Jobs.
  • CBS News: America’s job problem: Employers are hiring, but pay is low
  • CNBC: Quality of jobs remains low, says Westwood’s Dan Alpert
  • Brinkwire: US jobs report: record-breaking streak continues as 225,000 added in January
  • Korn Ferry: So Many Low-Quality Jobs
  • The New Republic: The Perils of Economic Boosterism
  • Business Insider: It’s clear the US economy is giving average American workers the short end of the stick
  • Los Angeles Times: Op-Ed: What’s behind the rise of Bernie Sanders? Voter concern over economic inequality
  • Capital & Main: INCOME GROWTH DECLINES FOR POOR AMERICANS UNDER TRUMP
  • Brookings: A Roadmap for Growing Good Jobs: Background on data and methodology
  • MSN: South Carolina: Gobs of jobs, but not enough offer living wage
  • CBS News:In South Carolina, gobs of jobs — just not enough paying a living wage
+ January 2020
  • Fox 61: Connecticut projected for $28 million deficit for Fiscal Year 2020
  • Reno Gazette Journal: America’s workers need better jobs | Stumo
  • Colorado Springs Independent: The class divide keeps growing 
  • StarTribune: Why aren’t U.S. wages rising more quickly?
  • The Moguldom Nation:U.S. Jobs Market Isn’t As Healthy As It Seems
  • Investors’ Corner: US jobs wonder – not quite what it seems
  • Rome News Tribune: Editorial: Why aren’t wages rising more quickly?
  • Athens Banner-Herald: What Others Say: Why aren’t wages rising more quickly?
  • Yahoo Finance: U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index Revised Higher to Level of 80.53, up Slightly by 0.14% from Previous Month
  • World News Group: An economic boom for some
+ December 2019
  • Rockland Times: America’s Workers Need Better Jobs
  • Elko Daily: Commentary: America’s workers need better jobs
  • Towanda Daily Review: America’s workers need better jobs
  • Pekin Daily Times: Michael Stumo: America’s workers need better-paying jobs
  • Peoria Journal Star:Michael Stumo: America’s workers need better-paying jobs
  • Colorado Springs Gazette: GUEST COLUMN: America’s workers need better jobs
  • Harrisburg Patriot News: Too many American workers are barely surviving on low-paying jobs | Opinion
  • Forbes: In A Big Surprise, U.S. Job Growth Surged By 266,000 In November
  • Hellenic Shipping News:Understanding The U.S. Economy: Lots Of Rotten Jobs
  • Yahoo Finance:U.S. Private Sector Job Quality Index (JQI)® November 2019
  • Politico: It’s Jobs Day
  • Forbes: U.S. Economy Sputters Into Holiday Season
  • CNBC: Seeing a shift toward low-value-added service sector jobs: Expert
  • VOA: Trump Banks on Economy for 2020 Victory
  • Huntington Herald Dispatch: Trade, currency issues hurting workers
  • Weber Sentinel News: America’s Workers Need Better Jobs
  • Rockford Register Star: America’s workers need better jobs
  • Freeport Journal Standard: America’s workers need better jobs
  • The Oakland Press: America’s workers need better jobs
  • Greeley Tribune: America’s workers need better jobs
  • Alma Morning Sun: America’s workers need better jobs
  • Macomb Daily: America’s workers need better jobs
  • Royal Oak Tribune: America’s workers need better jobs
  • Colorado Springs Independent: This holiday season, remember the low-wage worker
  • The Real News Network: Great Employment Numbers: 44% of Fully Employed Make $18,000 a Year or Less
  • World Socialist Web Site: November US jobs report in perspective: Most jobs “added” to US economy are low wage
  • ETF Trends: Could Job Quality Be Suffering Despite A Positive Jobs Report?
  • WRLN: Let’s Hope NAFTA 2.0 Is A Hemispheric Shot In The Arm – Not Another Poke In The Ribs
  • NY Times: How the Fed Lost Its Faith in ‘Full Employment’
  • York Dispatch: EDITORIAL: Lots of jobs, but lousy ones
  • FX Street: Dollar Bugs Get Sent To The Woodshed
  • Bloomberg: The Jobs Market Isn’t as Healthy as It Seems
  • The Columbus Republic:America’s workers need better jobs
  • Citizen Truth: Almost Half Of All Americans Work Low Wage Jobs as Praise Heaped on ‘Strong Economy
  • World Economic Forum: Long job hunts, poor pay and hectic hours – why is job quality in the U.S. so low?
  • Korn Ferry Institute: So Many Low-Quality Jobs
  • Yahoo Finance: The Jobs Market Isn’t as Healthy as It Seems
  • Arizona Capitol Times: America’s Workers Need Better Jobs
  • Don Fenley: Tri-Cities labor market posts another solid growth month, adds 600 jobs
  • Capital & Main: 2020’s Biggest Story? The (Rea l) Economy, Stupid
+ November 2019
  • Quartz: The great American labor paradox: Plentiful jobs, most of them bad
  • Financial Times: An economic boom the likes of which we have never seen before
  • Bloomberg: Surveillance: Value In International Stocks, Santos Says
  • WSJ: Newsletter: The U.S. Is Producing Lots of Jobs. Are They Good Jobs?
  • Bloomberg: Quality Work Is Trailing Quantity in the U.S. Job Market, New Index Shows
  • Yahoo Finance: Quality Work Is Trailing Quantity in the U.S. Job Market, New Index Shows
  • Transport Topics: Quality Trails Quantity in US Job Market, Index Shows
  • Politico: Wolf and Cooch
  • Nevada Current: ‘Job quality index’ may help explain why Nevada grows poorer as it grows
  • Handelsblatt: America’s job market creates many jobs, but not very good ones 
  • The Hill: America’s workers continue to struggle despite ‘strong’ jobs report
  • CBS News: American jobs are getting worse, new economic index shows
  • Forbes: The Frightening Rise In Low-Quality, Low-Paying Jobs: Is This Really A Strong Job Market?
  • Gold Seek: Muddling for Solutions
  • Tribune Democrat: Michael Stumo | America’s workers need better jobs

Monthly JQI Releases

JQI White Paper

View or download the JQI White Paper [PDF]

JQI Team

Contact Us: mgt-jqi@buffalo.edu

UB School of Management

UB College of Arts and Sciences

UB Law School

Aalto University

CU Boulder Leeds School of Business

Southwestern University of Finance and Economics

JQI Affiliated Adjunct Faculty

  • Daniel Alpert | Managing Partner, Westwood Capital LLC and Affiliates
  • Jeffrey Ferry | Chief Economist, Coalition For A Prosperous America
  • Amanda Mayoral | Economist, Coalition For A Prosperous America

Current Students

Former Students

JQI Board of Managers

  • Daniel Alpert | Managing Partner, Westwood Capital LLC and Affiliates
  • Marc Fasteau | President, Fulcrum Partners LLC
  • Gregg Fisher | Founder, Quent Capital
  • Michael Stumo | CEO, Coalition For A Prosperous America

The JQI is a development of a consortium of the following institutions:

Our Partners

Coalition for a Prosperours America
Rally Point Strategies Logo
Quent Capital Logo
Caparo Technologies Inc
3 Zero Creative logo

The University at Buffalo School of Management logo and name used with permission.