About the Job Quality Center of Excellence

Why Job Quality Matters

Good jobs are essential to a healthy economy, successful businesses, strong communities, thriving families, and a well-functioning democracy. Yet fewer than half of working people in the US report having a good job, and more than a third struggle with low wages. Millions more lack adequate benefits, face discrimination and harassment, and cope with the daily challenges of low-quality jobs. 

The Job Quality Center of Excellence, developed by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program (opens in a new tab), offers tools, resources, and guidance on job quality for those working to build a more equitable and sustainable economy.

About the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program

The Job Quality Center of Excellence was developed by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program (EOP), whose mission is to advance strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. Job quality is a central aspect of our work —  but what do we mean when we say “job quality”?

Our definition of good jobs rests on a framework that we created in partnership with the Families & Workers Fund and unveiled as part of our Statement on Good Jobs. The framework identifies three key pillars of job quality: Economic Stability (wages, benefits, scheduling, and working conditions); Economic Mobility (hiring, advancement, training, and wealth-building); and Equity, Respect, and Voice (transparency, accountability, belonging, and worker voice).

These indicators are foundational to all good jobs in all sectors and all stages of a career, and the resources featured in the Job Quality Center of Excellence seek to advance job quality along these dimensions.

Good Jobs: A Working Definition