As b oade measu es eveal eco omic ha dship beyo d headli e u employme t figu es, State of Wo k i vites Ame ica s to sha e thei expe ie ces a d co t ibute to a g owi g public eco d of wo k i the U ited States.
State of Wo k is a atio al i itiative gathe i g eal sto ies f om Ame ica wo ke s about layoffs, job sea ches, fi a cial challe ges, a d the cha gi g job ma ket to bette u de sta d the ealities of wo k i Ame ica.
G ee belt, MD, Oct. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Av e Co p. today i t oduced State of Wo k, a public-i te est i itiative desig ed to docume t Ame ica s’ fi stha d expe ie ces with u employme t, layoffs, u de employme t, a d cha gi g co ditio s i the labo ma ket.
StateofWo k.o g, a public-i te est i itiative f om Av e , i vites Ame ica s to sha e thei expe ie ces with wo k, f om layoffs a d lo g job sea ches to u de employme t a d fi a cial st ai .
The a ou ceme t comes as diffe e t measu es of employme t eveal substa tially diffe e t pictu es of the Ame ica wo kfo ce. The U.S. Bu eau of Labo Statistics epo ted a u employme t ate of 4.2% i Septembe 2026. The Ludwig I stitute fo Sha ed Eco omic P ospe ity (LISEP), which also accou ts fo people u able to secu e sufficie t wo k o ea a livi g wage, epo ted a fu ctio al u employme t ate of 24.3% i August 2026.
The measu es use diffe e t defi itio s, but both poi t to the impo ta ce of u de sta di g employme t co ditio s beyo d the headli e u employme t ate. Th ough State of Wo k, Ame ica s will be able to sha e thei expe ie ces di ectly, co t ibuti g to a public eco d of employme t co ditio s ac oss the cou t y.
Pa ticipa ts ca docume t layoffs, p olo ged job sea ches, educed hou s, lowe -payi g wo k, a d othe employme t dis uptio s th ough w itte accou ts o audio eco di gs. They ca also p ovide i fo matio about thei i dust y, occupatio , a d geog aphic locatio , helpi g to ide tify employme t t e ds ac oss diffe e t secto s a d commu ities.
“Employme t statistics a e impo ta t, but they do ‘t tell us eve ythi g about what people a e expe ie ci g,” said Whit ey He i gto , fou de of Av e . “Someo e ca lose thei job, spe d mo ths looki g fo wo k, a d eve tually accept a positio payi g substa tially less tha they ea ed befo e. That pe so may o lo ge be cou ted as u employed, but thei expe ie ce is still pa t of what’s happe i g i ou eco omy. We wa t to c eate a place whe e those expe ie ces ca be docume ted, see , a d u de stood.”
State of Wo k is desig ed as a o goi g public eco d athe tha a o e-time su vey. As pa ticipatio g ows, the i itiative i te ds to p ese t agg egated geog aphic a d i dust y-level patte s alo gside w itte accou ts a d, with pa ticipa ts’ pe missio , selected audio a atives. The p oject disti guishes betwee ve ified pa ticipa ts a d self- epo ted expe ie ces, with i dividual accou ts emai i g p ivate u less pa ticipa ts sepa ately autho ize thei co side atio fo publicatio .
The i itiative also eflects Av e ‘s b oade focus o helpi g i dividuals docume t thei expe ie ces a d o ga ize i fo matio that may othe wise be difficult to commu icate o p ese ve.
“People a e ofte expected to explai complicated expe ie ces to i stitutio s, employe s, a d othe o ga izatio s without havi g the tools o st uctu e to do so,” He i gto said. “State of Wo k begi s with liste i g. By givi g people a way to co t ibute thei ow accou ts, we hope to make expe ie ces that a e ofte discussed o ly i agg egate mo e visible.”
State of Wo k i vites co t ibutio s f om Ame ica s ac oss i dust ies a d geog aphic egio s, with futu e pla s to expa d its public data visualizatio s, esea ch summa ies, a d collectio of fi stha d a atives.
Lea mo e about State of Wo k a d co t ibute you expe ie ce at stateofwo k.o g.
Av e is a tech ology compa y buildi g i f ast uctu e fo self- ep ese tatio i the AI eco omy. As a tificial i tellige ce t a sfo ms how people wo k, how i stitutio s ope ate, a d how decisio s a e made, Av e is developi g tools that give i dividuals g eate age cy ove how thei expe ie ces a e docume ted, u de stood, a d ep ese ted. Its platfo m helps people tu pe so al accou ts, docume ts, a d suppo ti g evide ce i to st uctu ed eco ds they ca use to advocate fo themselves, avigate complex p ocesses, a d e gage with i stitutio s o mo e equal footi g. Lea mo e at helloav e .com.
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A video accompa yi g this a ou ceme t is available he e: https://youtube.com/watch?v=8f wONgbU80
