The Heldrich Center conducted a number of Work Trends surveys to delve into the impacts of the Great Recession. Perhaps the most profound look came from Voices of the Unemployed, which featured verbatim comments from American workers who lost their jobs during the recession. The comments focused on what workers thought government should do to help the unemployed and what they felt would be most helpful to them in getting a new job. Workers offered their assessments of the future of the economy and labor market, the impact of the recession on Americans’ finances, causes of unemployment, and national policies and political leaders in American Workers Assess an Economic Disaster and Diminished Lives and Futures. The agony of prolonged unemployment was expressed through the eyes of Americans continuing to struggle to find jobs and the sacrifices they have endured during the Great Recession in No End in Sight, Out of Work and Losing Hope, Shattered American Dream, and Unhappy, Worried, and Pessimistic. See below for the complete list of Work Trends products on the Great Recession.

Products:

Unhappy, Worried, and Pessimistic: Americans in the Aftermath of the Great Recession (August 2014)

Diminished Lives and Futures: A Portrait of America in the Great-Recession Era (February 2013)

Left Out. Forgotten? Recent High School Graduates and the Great Recession (June 2012)

Chasing the American Dream: Recent College Graduates and the Great Recession (May 2012)

Unemployed Workers and the Great Recession (January 2011)

Shattered American Dream: Unemployed Workers Lose Ground, Hope, and Faith in their Futures (December 2010)

American Workers Assess an Economic Disaster (September 2010)

No End in Sight: The Agony of Prolonged Unemployment (May 2010)

Distressed American Worker: Fears of Permanent Job Loss Soar (April 2009)

Anxious American Worker (August 2008)