Bernstein graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts where he studied double bass with Orin O'Brien. He earned a Masters Degree in Social Work from the Hunter School of Social Work, and, from Columbia University, he received a Masters Degree in Philosophy and Ph.D. in Social Welfare. He does not have a degree or any formal training in economics.

Bernstein's areas of interest include "federal, state and international economic policies, specifically the middle-class squeeze, income inequality and mobility, trends in employment and earnings, low-wage labor markets, poverty, and international comparisons." He is known as a critic of free trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He has taught at Howard University, Columbia University and New York University. In 1992, he was hired at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a think tank with ties to organized labor and a focus on issues affecting low- and middle-income workers. From 1995-1996, he served in the Department of Labor as Deputy Chief Economist. He then returned to the EPI, where he was senior economist and director of the Living Standards Program when selected by Biden.

He sits on the Congressional Budget Office's advisory committee and is employed as contributor at the financial news network CNBC. His designated job on the Vice Presidential staff is a new position, created because of "the critical nature of the economic challenges facing America." Upon his appointment, journalists noted that he holds more liberal views than many of Obama's economic advisers.He also was appointed the Executive Director of the Middle Class Working Families Task Force and is responsible for direct management of the project.Paul Krugman, a Nobel laureate in economics and a noted progressive columnist, argued in Nov. '08 that, given the centrist makeup of President Barack Obama's economic inner circle, the new Economic Recovery Advisory Board could be used to "give progressive economists a voice," and mentioned Bernstein and fellow EPI economist, and EPI president, Lawrence Mishel among others as progressive economists who might be suitable for the board. The Biden appointment implemented that suggestion.

Bernstein's books include Common Sense for a Fair Economy and Why Do I Feel So Squeezed? . He coauthored the last nine editions of "The State of Working America" as well as "The Benefits of Full Employment: When Markets Work for People."

He is a regular columnist for the American Prospect online, and he has published op-eds in the New York Times and the Washington Post. He has also written diaries on the Daily Kos.