publications | Business Conditions, Economy, Workforce

Chart of the week: Which D.C. residents have returned to in-person work?

April 01, 2022
  • Yesim Sayin
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According to Household Pulse Survey data from the U.S. Census, during the first two weeks of March 2022, 36 percent of working-age District residents reported working (or volunteering) outside their homes during the previous week.

Young workers between the ages of 18 and 24 were the group most likely to report working outside the home, and among these young workers working outside the home, two out of three workers were essential workers (working in healthcare, education, or transportation; first responders; or those who work in a grocery store).

Non-essential workers were more than twice as likely to leave their home for work if they did not have a child (21 percent, compared to 9 percent among those who had children in the household), and three times more likely to work outside of the house if their household income was above $75,000 (28 percent, averaged across these income groups, compared to 10 percent among those whose household income was below $75,000).

These data also suggest that D.C. residents of Hispanic origin worked away from their homes most frequently compared to other race and ethnicity groups (40 percent reported working away from home), and they more frequently reported an occupation that falls into the category of essential workers (27 percent among Hispanic or Latino residents compared to 14 percent among all).

Author

Yesim Sayin

Executive Director
D.C. Policy Center

Yesim Sayin is the founding Executive Director of the D.C. Policy Center.

With over twenty years of public policy experience in the District of Columbia, Dr. Sayin is recognized by policymakers, advocates and the media as a source of reliable, balanced analyses on the District’s economy and demography.  Yesim’s research interests include economic and fiscal policy, urban economic development, housing, and education. She is especially focused on how COVID-19 pandemic is changing regional and interregional economic interdependencies and what this means for urban policy. Her work is frequently covered in the media, including the Washington Post, the Washington Business Journal, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, WAMU, and the Washington City Paper, among others.

Before joining the D.C. Policy Center, Dr. Sayin worked at the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Financial Officer leading the team that scored the fiscal impact of all legislation the District considered. She frequently testified on high profile legislation and worked closely with the executive and Council staff to ensure that policymakers fully understand the fiscal implications of their proposed legislation. Yesim also has worked in the private sector, and consulted with international organization on a large portfolio of public finance topics.

Yesim holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from Bogazici University, located in Istanbul, Turkey. 

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