Employment Impacts of Proposed U.S. Economic Stimulus Programs: Job Creation, Job Quality, and Demographic Distribution Measures

>> See also State-Level THRIVE Reports

Read Sierra Club report “How to Build Back Better,” based on this PERI report.

This report by Robert Pollin, Shouvik Chakraborty and Jeannette Wicks-Lim presents estimates of the job creation that would result throughout the U.S. economy from implementing an economy-wide THRIVE investment agenda, as described in a September 2020 resolution of the U.S. Congress. This is a project to “Transform, Heal and Renew by Investing in a Vibrant Economy,” i.e. “THRIVE.” It is a $9.5 trillion, 10-year program designed by the member organizations of the U.S. Green New Deal Network. The THRIVE investment program totals to $9.5 trillion over 10 years, focused on four major investment areas: clean renewable energy and energy efficiency; infrastructure; agriculture and land restoration; and the care economy, public health, and the postal system. The study estimates that, at an average annual investment level of $954 billion, this program will generate about 15.5 million total jobs per year, including direct, indirect, and induced jobs. The study also provides evidence on the quality of jobs created through THRIVE, including data on wages, benefits, and unionization rates. It also reports on educational attainment levels of workers currently employed in the range of industries associated with the THRIVE Agenda, as well as on the shares of women and people of color employed in these activities.