Sara Hathaway quoted in article about current economic environment

Sara Hathaway, director of Career and Professional Development, was quoted in an article published Monday, Aug. 31, on the personal finance website WalletHub. The site’s report, “2020’s Hardest-Working States in America,” looks at factors such as hours worked per week, average commute time, vacation time left unused and workers having more than one job.

To the question: In the current economic environment, do you believe wages will register a true increase or will people need to work extra or get a second job?, Hathaway answered:

“It really depends on the industry regarding whether wages will increase, however, I don’t believe there will be significant wage increases in large numbers for workers but a continued rise in second, remote, temporary, gig or contract opportunities to supplement income. A positive to the downturn in the negative economic environment will be the new ideas, unidentified markets, efficiencies, and business growth that will be created.”

WalletHub reports that in July 2020, about 143.53 million people were employed in the United States. There were 121.2 million full-time employees.

Members of the Trump administration have argued an extra $600 a week in unemployment benefits would lead to fewer workers looking for a job. But WalletHub reports that a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago research showed those collecting unemployment benefits actually search the hardest among all the groups they studied.