[1] He was formerly an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management[2] and senior economist for the Council of Economic Advisers.
[3] His work has been widely covered by the media, particularly on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market in the United States.
[4][5][6][7] Sojourner was raised largely in Washington, DC by parents active in the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement who had recently changed their names to "Sojourner" in honor of Sojourner Truth.
[10] Sojourner's research has focused on labor market institutions, particularly labor unions, hiring in the education sector,[11] and consumer financial decisions.
[10] During the COVID-19 pandemic, he wrote widely cited forecasts of new unemployment insurance claims based on analyses of Google Trends data,[12] analyses of how the pandemic would reduce childcare access, a study of screening practices in the workplace, and research on work on which employees advocate for workplace safety practices to protect themselves.