The W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research is a think tank that researches the impacts of public policy on jobs, unemployment, and job quality. The organization often publishes research that supports left-of-center economic policies, including raising the minimum wage, expanding welfare, and generally increasing government management of the economy. ^{1 2}

History

William E. Upjohn was the founder of the Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company in Kalamazoo, MI. In 1932, six weeks before his death, Upjohn established the W.E. Upjohn Unemployment Trustee Corporation, a farm that provided assistance to workers laid off during the Great Depression. In 1935, the U.S. government created a federal unemployment insurance system, and the Trustee Corp. was reformed as the “W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research” to facilitate the federal unemployment insurance program and research labor and unemployment. In 1954, the group reformed into a think tank solely devoted to research. ^{3 1}

Research

The Upjohn Institute conducts research on national, state, and local employment trends and policies. ²

In February 2026, the Upjohn Institute published a study recommending the establishment of government-funded universal child care in California. ⁴

In January 2026, the Upjohn Institute and Cleveland State University conducted a study funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation on ethnic minority entrepreneurs in Dayton, Ohio. The report claimed that ethnic minority entrepreneurs faced significant challenges, including a decline in federal funding, especially funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. ⁵

Also in January, Upjohn Institute president Michael Horrigan attended an event entitled “Preparing American Workers for an AI Age,” hosted by the U.S. Senate. Horrigan presented some of the Upjohn Institute’s research on AI, claiming that higher-skilled workers would adapt better to structural changes to the labor market caused by AI, while low-skilled workers would face higher levels of unemployment. ⁶

In December 2025, the Upjohn Institute released a report on the impact of “at will” work policies, which permit employers to fire workers for any reason, on employment. The report contended that at will policies have an ambiguous effect on employment since they simultaneously cause more workers to be fired but also permit less-costly hiring of new employees. ⁷

In October 2025, the Upjohn Institute published a research report on New York City’s recently implemented Fair Workweek Law, which mandated that restaurant employers post work schedules at least two weeks in advance or pay employees overtime wages. The report contended that the Fair Workweek Law had no impact on employment levels. ⁸

In July 2025, the Upjohn Institute published a report on the impact of the Honolulu Skyline, a new rail transit system, on the economy of Honolulu, Hawaii. The report claimed that the system increased the employment rate and produced savings for locals, particularly low-income individuals. ⁹

In February 2014, the Upjohn Institute published research arguing that raising the minimum wage reduces income inequality. ¹⁰

The Upjohn Institute generally supports government welfare programs, including tax credits for childcare, expanded health benefits for military veterans, and subsidies for university tuition. ¹¹

The Upjohn Institute has published research claiming that the American manufacturing sector has largely been in decline, apart from high-end technology manufacturing. ¹²

The Upjohn Institute’s Policies for Places initiative is a research program that uses interdisciplinary studies to figure out how to create high-quality jobs suited to particularly communities and locations. ¹³

The Upjohn Institute has funded the work of Teresa Ghilarducci, a left-wing economics professor best known for promoting Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs), a proposal to establish federal retirement accounts with mandatory contributions and defined payouts. ¹⁴

From 2024 to 2024, the Upjohn Institute co-funded ten research projects with the Russell Sage Foundation. ¹⁵

Leadership

As of 2026, Michael Horrigan was the president of the Upjohn Institute and had been since 2019. Horrigan previously served as an associate commissioner at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and formerly worked as an economics professor at Williams College. ^{16 17} In 2024, Horrigan earned a $427,338 salary from the Upjohn Institute. ¹⁸

Funding

In 2024, the Upjohn Institute earned $98,319,707 in revenues, a record high for the group; in 2023, the Upjohn Institute earned $24,793,042, and in 2022, it earned $25,753,689. In 2024, the Upjohn Institute received $11,635,679 from charitable contributions and $77,561,584 from investment income. ^{18 19}

The Upjohn Institute has received funding from the Institute of Education Sciences, a government research entity. ²⁰

1. “History.” Upjohn Institute. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/history.
2. “Homepage.” Upjohn Institute. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/.
3. Monacelli, Emily. “15 ways the Upjohn family’s impact lives on in Kalamazoo.” MLive. February 23, 2017. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2017/02/upjohn_familys_influence_on_ka.html.
4. “The economic cost of California’s broken child care market.” Upjohn Institute. February 19, 2026. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/research-highlights/economic-cost-californias-broken-child-care-market.
5. “Minority entrepreneurs in Dayton face challenges and enjoy opportunities.” Upjohn Institute. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/research-highlights/minority-entrepreneurs-dayton-face-challenges-and-enjoy-opportunities.
6. “Upjohn Institute’s Mike Horrigan joins Capitol Hill panel on AI and jobs.” Upjohn Institute. January 15, 2026. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/research-highlights/upjohn-institutes-mike-horrigan-joins-capitol-hill-panel-ai-and-jobs.
7. “Is just-cause legislation an effective curb against “at-will” termination?.” Upjohn Institute. December 23, 2025. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/research-highlights/just-cause-legislation-effective-curb-against-will-termination.
8.  “Do fair workweek laws affect labor markets?.” Upjohn Institute. October 21, 2025. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/research-highlights/do-fair-workweek-laws-affect-labor-markets.
9. “Public transit delivers large gains for the local economy.” Upjohn Institute. July 8, 2025. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/research-highlights/public-transit-delivers-large-gains-local-economy.
10. “Growing income inequality and the minimum wage.” Upjohn Institute. February 5, 2014. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/research-highlights/growing-income-inequality-and-minimum-wage.
11. “Resilient Workers.” Upjohn Institute. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/resilient-workers?termid=246.
12. “Is American Manufacturing in Decline?.” Upjohn Institute. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/research-highlights/american-manufacturing-decline.
13. “Policies for Place.” Upjohn Institute. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/mri/policies-for-place.
14. “Grants.” Teresa Ghilarducci. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.teresaghilarducci.org/grants
15. “Grants Database.” Russell Sage Foundation. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.russellsage.org/research/grants?co_funders%5B1344%5D=1344.
16. “Michael Horrigan.” Upjohn Institute. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.upjohn.org/about/upjohn-team/staff/michael-horrigan.
17. “Michael Horrigan.” Conference Board. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://www.conference-board.org/bio/michael-horrigan.
18. “WE Upjohn Unemployment Trustee Corporation Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/381360419/202541759349300864/full.
19. “W E Upjohn Unemployment Trustee Corporation.” ProPublica. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/381360419/202541759349300864/full.
20. “W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.” Institute of Education Sciences. Accessed March 9, 2026. https://ies.ed.gov/about/organization/w-e-upjohn-institute-employment-research.