Avren Introduces State of Work, a Public Initiative to Document Americans’ Experiences With Employment
As broader measures reveal economic hardship beyond headline unemployment figures, State of Work invites Americans to
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Greenbelt, MD, Oct. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Avren Corp. today introduced State of Work, a public-interest initiative designed to document Americans’ firsthand experiences with unemployment, layoffs, underemployment, and changing conditions in the labor market.
StateofWork.org, a public-interest initiative from Avren, invites Americans to share their experiences with work, from layoffs and long job searches to underemployment and financial strain.
The announcement comes as different measures of employment reveal substantially different pictures of the American workforce. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an unemployment rate of 4.2% in September 2026. The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), which also accounts for people unable to secure sufficient work or earn a living wage, reported a functional unemployment rate of 24.3% in August 2026.
The measures use different definitions, but both point to the importance of understanding employment conditions beyond the headline unemployment rate. Through State of Work, Americans will be able to share their experiences directly, contributing to a public record of employment conditions across the country.
Participants can document layoffs, prolonged job searches, reduced hours, lower-paying work, and other employment disruptions through written accounts or audio recordings. They can also provide information about their industry, occupation, and geographic location, helping to identify employment trends across different sectors and communities.
“Employment statistics are important, but they don’t tell us everything about what people are experiencing,” said Whitney Herrington, founder of Avren. “Someone can lose their job, spend months looking for work, and eventually accept a position paying substantially less than they earned before. That person may no longer be counted as unemployed, but their experience is still part of what’s happening in our economy. We want to create a place where those experiences can be documented, seen, and understood.”
State of Work is designed as an ongoing public record rather than a one-time survey. As participation grows, the initiative intends to present aggregated geographic and industry-level patterns alongside written accounts and, with participants’ permission, selected audio narratives. The project distinguishes between verified participants and self-reported experiences, with individual accounts remaining private unless participants separately authorize their consideration for publication.
The initiative also reflects Avren’s broader focus on helping individuals document their experiences and organize information that may otherwise be difficult to communicate or preserve.
“People are often expected to explain complicated experiences to institutions, employers, and other organizations without having the tools or structure to do so,” Herrington said. “State of Work begins with listening. By giving people a way to contribute their own accounts, we hope to make experiences that are often discussed only in aggregate more visible.”
State of Work invites contributions from Americans across industries and geographic regions, with future plans to expand its public data visualizations, research summaries, and collection of firsthand narratives.
Learn more about State of Work and contribute your experience at stateofwork.org.
About Avren
Avren is a technology company building infrastructure for self-representation in the AI economy. As artificial intelligence transforms how people work, how institutions operate, and how decisions are made, Avren is developing tools that give individuals greater agency over how their experiences are documented, understood, and represented. Its platform helps people turn personal accounts, documents, and supporting evidence into structured records they can use to advocate for themselves, navigate complex processes, and engage with institutions on more equal footing. Learn more at helloavren.com.
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A video accompanying this announcement is available here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=8fnwONgbU80
