By the numbers: Data drives national economist’s advocacy

Janelle Jones, M.A. ’10, can say without exaggeration that she has been solving problems most of her 38 years. While an elementary student growing up in Ohio, she consistently finished math workbooks two grades above her class level. Now she researches and analyzes complicated labor issues with the goal of advancing solutions that create a societal shift. Jones is the first Black woman to serve as the chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor, ending her planned one-year term in President Joe Biden’s administration in January. As the principal advisor to the Secretary of Labor, she tackled policies and plans tied to Biden’s executive order titled Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.

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Illinois State: Fall 2022

The 2021 order was signed as Jones took the position that aligned with her passion to help the underrepresented and make life better for the overlooked. She did so in her federal role by contemplating the impact of regulations and specifics of policy enforcement, always attentive to racial equity.

The work involved advancing proposed policies including paid sick leave, protection for workers on the job, and the $15 minimum wage. Data was key to every initiative, which meant Jones achieved the goal of applying her mathematical skills while working to lift up others.

Jones proved her intellect by the third grade, which is when an astute teacher determined she was disruptive in class because she was bored. Her parents placed her in a magnet school where she continued her advanced learning and remained excited about math.

An avid student, Jones decided early in high school that she would attend Spelman College in Georgia. The historically Black liberal arts school for women appealed to her in part because of its ties to the first Black female astronaut, Mae Jemison, who had taken a flag from the college with her to space. Jones worked at NASA while completing her diploma and contemplated becoming an astronaut herself.

“My mom reminded me that I can’t even ride a roller coaster without getting sick,” Jones said with her infectious laugh, adding it’s a positive that her parents have always been brutally honest. The duo, Darnell and Michelle, remained her staunchest supporters as she headed to Spelman on a STEM scholarship and completed a math degree.

To earn required social science credits, Jones completed an economics class. The professor encouraged her to become an economist, a path she found intriguing, but first she needed a break. “I didn’t want to study or write another paper or do another problem set. I’d been doing that nonstop for 15 years,” said Jones, who opted to be an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer after completing her degree. She worked in California for the national service program that strives to alleviate poverty.

“I did all the things I’d never done as a math major, working at a family resource center doing community service. It was an amazing experience,” Jones said. She opted to join the Peace Corps as well, but Jones also wanted to complete a graduate degree. That dual desire resulted in her enrolling in Illinois State’s Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows Program through the University’s Stevenson Center.

The program targets individuals who have served in the Peace Corps or are preparing for an assignment through the U.S. government international initiative. Jones studied on campus one year before completing the degree in Peru. She worked there as a community development volunteer who helped bolster a small business and strengthen the local economy.

The experience convinced Jones she wanted a job using data to inform advocacy. She became a research associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. Working at the think tank cemented her interest in economic policy, especially labor economics and specifically Black workers. She has focused on unemployment, unions, and job quality.

That emphasis remained as Jones flourished in her career. She became an economist at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, an analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, policy and research director at The Hub Project, and managing director for policy and research at Groundwork Collaborative before joining the Department of Labor. Her research has been cited in national media including The Economist, The Washington Post, The Review of Black Political Economy, The New Yorker, and Harper’s.

What Jones has learned is that the national economy is “a disaster of epic proportions.” She bluntly admits it is a struggle to stay positive when analyzing data that shows how Americans are struggling, especially Black women.

For example, Jones notes that Black women experienced the steepest drop in labor force participation during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with 973,000 fewer employed in January 2021 compared to February 2020. “The losses in local and state government and leisure and hospitality have disproportionate impacts on Black women’s employment,” she wrote in a U.S. Department of Labor blog in February 2021. “Black women are nearly one in four public sector workers, and one in eight leisure and hospitality workers.”

They have had the slowest job recovery from the pandemic, which continues to impact the nation’s economy. Jones has myriad statistics to confirm the U.S. is far from rebounding following the shutdowns and supply chain breakages that occurred as COVID-19 surged during 2020. After studying the resulting implications and hardships, she is cemented in her belief that a paradigm shift is needed.

“Often we think about how we have this society and need to build an economy. In reality, we should build society around the economy,” Jones said. “How can we use the principles, narratives, and thoughts tied to the economy to make a better society?”

She answers the question by explaining her “Black women best” approach to tackling complex economic problems. “Centering relief and recovery policies around the needs of Black women and other vulnerable workers will ensure an inclusive economy for everyone. This will mean involving those communities in identifying needs, policy development, solutions, and action.”

Put into practice, the concept requires “addressing long-standing history of racial discrimination across our economy—in pay, education, health care, housing, and wealth building—to ensure everyone can access the resources and opportunities they need to thrive.”

It is equally important to embrace the reality that “the issue of equity in this country is not solvable. We will never check it off the to-do list,” Jones said. “At the same time, we can be a generation of people hoping we can make it better for folks who come with us and behind us. It’s hard, but what is the alternative? We don’t try? Imagine if no one tried.”

She shared her passion and knowledge with students during the summer as a visiting scholar at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and now contemplates her next role in working for a better tomorrow, knowing full well she is running a marathon with the finish line not yet in sight.