News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Life
Culture & Art
Hobbies
News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Culture & Art
Hobbies
Average wages have surpassed inflation for 12 straight months | Economic Policy Institute
Average hourly wage growth has exceeded inflation for 12 straight months, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data released this morning. This real (or inflation-adjusted) wage growth is a key indicator of how well the average worker’s wage can improve their standard of living. As inflation continues to normalize, I’m optimistic more workers will…
Vouchers undermine efforts to provide an excellent public education for all | Economic Policy Institute
Since the early 2000s, many states have introduced significant voucher programs to provide public financing for private school education. These voucher programs are deeply damaging to efforts to offer an excellent public education for all U.S. children—and this is in fact often the intention of those pushing these programs. In this post we argue that: …
Operation Dixie failed 78 years ago. Are today’s Southern workers about to change all that? | Economic Policy Institute
Volkswagen workers’ decisive recent union election victory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, makes them the first Southern U.S. auto workers to unionize a foreign-owned auto factory. Their success could also mark a historic turning point for generations of Southern workers seeking to improve their jobs and transform their states' economies. There are also signs that vigorous enforcement…
Tight labor markets are essential to reducing racial disparities and within the purview of the Fed’s dual mandate | Economic Policy Institute
Download this article as a PDF This essay was originally published in the Point/Counterpoint section of the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management and can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22545. Key findings Growing evidence shows that monetary policy decisions have a measurable impact on racial disparities in the labor market. This evidence challenges long-held beliefs about…
Class of 2024: Young college graduates have experienced a rapid economic recovery | Economic Policy Institute
The labor market for young college graduates today is stronger than it was before the pandemic and has been for quite some time. This strong recovery was not guaranteed—instead, it was a direct result of an aggressive fiscal policy response to the pandemic’s economic shock. This bounceback—not just for young college graduates but for all…
Cities and counties might be at risk of losing billions if they don’t obligate American Rescue Plan funds correctly: Advocates should pay close attention to the 2024 obligation deadline | Economic Policy Institute
State and local governments have until December 31, 2024, to “obligate” the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) they received as part of 2021’s American Rescue Plan Act. Community partners and other stakeholders are concerned that some recipient governments will not obligate their full allotment of funds, perhaps through misunderstandings of the rules. With…
The free market won’t solve our nationwide housing affordability problem: Equity-focused policy is the solution | Economic Policy Institute
Access to affordable housing is integral to economic security, and homeownership is often a precondition for economic mobility. Sadly, the prospect of homeownership remains increasingly elusive for potential homebuyers due to high home prices and interest rates. Prospective Black buyers face additional obstacles, including the burden of student loan debt and discrimination in mortgage lending. …
Waffle House strike highlights the harms of the Southern economic development model | Economic Policy Institute
In March, workers at the Waffle House in Conyers, Georgia, went on strike. It’s not difficult to see why: They are paid wages as low as $2.90 per hour before tips, with a $3.00 per shift “meal credit” taken from their already meager wages regardless of whether they have eaten a meal at the restaurant. …
Jobs report shows the labor market is strong but decidedly not hot: 175,000 jobs added in April while wage growth continues to decelerate | Economic Policy Institute
Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on the jobs report released this morning. Read the full thread here. Key positive indicators from today's jobs report: -175k jobs added in April, slowing as we approach full employment, but still above breakeven level -Black unemployment dropped back down after spiking last month, seemed it…
The inspiring wave of student worker organizing that the Trump administration tried to stop | Economic Policy Institute
Nearly 45,000 student workers at private colleges and universities have formed unions since 2022, seeking to bargain with their employers over wages, health care, protections from harassment and discrimination, and other issues. These student workers include graduate student teaching assistants, undergraduate and graduate student resident assistants, and student dining workers. They are organizing across the…
Job openings continue to normalize to pre-pandemic levels | Economic Policy Institute
Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on today’s release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for March. Read the full thread here. Job openings fell slightly in March now 3.7 million below their peak 2 years ago. High levels of job openings at the height of the pandemic…
Recapping a great week for workers | Economic Policy Institute
Last Friday, the United Auto Workers (UAW) scored a historic win in the South after a decade-long campaign to organize a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee. The UAW is hoping momentum from the Volkswagen vote as well as last year’s successful strike at the “Big Three” automakers will help them win representation at a Mercedes-Benz plant…
Explaining the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule that will benefit 4.3 million workers | Economic Policy Institute
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a final rule today making changes to the regulations about who is eligible for overtime pay. Here’s why this matters: How the overtime threshold works Overtime pay protections are included in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to ensure that most workers who put in more than 40 hours…
A tight labor market and state minimum wage increases boosted low-end wage growth between 2019 and 2023 | Economic Policy Institute
The labor market recovery from the pandemic recession has been tremendous and low-wage workers have been key recipients of those gains, with dramatically fast real wage growth between 2019 and 2023 as we found in our recent report. These gains were due in part to several large spending bills passed during the pandemic—including the vital…
Will Illinois be next to tackle the problem of ‘captive audience’ meetings?: Rights and freedoms of 22.7 million workers now protected in seven states | Economic Policy Institute
U.S. employers have tremendous power over worker conduct. Under federal law, employers can require workers to attend “captive audience” meetings—and force employees to listen to political, religious, or anti-union employer views—on work time. Fortunately, a growing number of states are now seeking to address the threat of political and religious coercion in the workplace. This…
Another strong jobs report: Unemployment has remained at or below 4% for 28 months running | Economic Policy Institute
Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on the jobs report released this morning, which showed 303,000 jobs added in March. Read the full thread here. Strong #jobsreport out this morning with great news from both #BLS surveys. Payroll survey shows 303,000 jobs added in March along with normalizing nominal wage growth.…
A record-breaking recovery for Black and Hispanic workers: Prime-age employment rates have hit an all-time high alongside tremendous wage growth | Economic Policy Institute
U.S. labor market strength in the recovery has been extraordinary because policymakers addressed the pandemic and subsequent recession at the scale of the problem. Unemployment has been at or below 4.0% for 27 months running, the longest such stretch since the late 1960s. Low-wage workers experienced an unprecedented surge in wage growth over the last…
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey shows an uptick in hiring | Economic Policy Institute
Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on today’s release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for February. Read the full thread here. The slight uptick in the hires rate is promising. At 3.7%, the hires rate for February is still a little below the pre-pandemic average of about 3.9%,…
Loc-ing students out: Darryl George, the CROWN Act, and the need to combat racial discrimination in the classroom | Economic Policy Institute
This piece was published in collaboration with the Albert Shanker Institute. For some students and workers, hair is a trivial wardrobe decision, while for many Black and Brown people, their hairstyle can be a consequential element of class participation and a job offer. School dress codes and “business appropriate” dress often put high stakes and…
Middle-out economics is good for workers, their families, and the broader economy | Economic Policy Institute
This piece was originally published in Democracy Journal. In the decades following World War II, the U.S. economy thrived. Economic growth was strong and the fruits of that growth were broadly shared. Not everything in the economy was perfect in the 1950s and ’60s—far from it. There were massive inequities by race and gender, marked…
The estate tax should help to level the playing field. Instead it’s letting the rich get richer. | Economic Policy Institute
This is an excerpt from an op-ed that originally published in CNN. Read the full op-ed here. The federal estate tax should be an effective tool to slightly level the playing field between those who inherit wealth and those who have to work for a living. It should also ensure that family dynasties who’ve amassed enormous…
Gender wage gap persists in 2023: Women are paid roughly 22% less than men on average | Economic Policy Institute
March 12 is Equal Pay Day, a reminder that there is still a significant pay gap between men and women in our country. The date represents how far into 2024 women would have to work on top of the hours they worked in 2023 simply to match what men were paid in 2023. Women were…
February jobs report: The labor market is strong—but decidedly not overheating as wage growth continues to moderate | Economic Policy Institute
Below, EPI economists offer their insights on the jobs report released this morning, which showed 275,000 jobs added in February. From EPI senior economist, Elise Gould (@eliselgould): Read the full thread here. A bit of a tale of two surveys in the #jobsreport as employment fell in the household survey as the payroll survey showed…
What’s behind the corporate effort to kneecap the National Labor Relations Board?: SpaceX, Amazon, Trader Joe’s, and Starbucks are trying to have the NLRB declared unconstitutional—after collectively being charged with hundreds of violations of workers’ organizing rights | Economic Policy Institute
Workers want unions now more than they have in a generation. Evidence suggests more than 60 million non-union workers would like a union at their workplace. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—the agency established by Congress in 1935 to protect workers’ organizing rights—is handling more union representation elections and unfair labor practice charges than they…
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey: Labor market remains strong—but not hot | Economic Policy Institute
Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on today’s release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for January. Read the full thread here. Today's JOLTS report reflects the revisions that were made to the CES employment data in their annual benchmarking process. According to their comparison tables found in the…
Immigrants are not hurting U.S.-born workers: Six facts to set the record straight | Economic Policy Institute
The immigrant share of the labor force reached a record high of 18.6% in 2023, according to our analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.{{1}} Anti-immigration advocates have been out in full force, using this as a talking point for deeply misguided commentary and analysis that roughly translates to…
Data show anti-union ‘right-to-work’ laws damage state economies: As Michigan’s repeal takes effect, New Hampshire should continue to reject ‘right-to-work’ legislation | Economic Policy Institute
This week, Michigan’s 2023 repeal of a so-called “right-to-work” (RTW) law takes effect. Meanwhile, New Hampshire’s state legislature is once again debating a RTW bill at a moment when it could not be clearer that RTW laws damage states’ economies by accelerating income inequality and reducing job quality, without delivering any job growth. RTW…
Child labor remains a key state legislative issue in 2024: State lawmakers must seize opportunities to strengthen standards, resist ongoing attacks on child labor laws | Economic Policy Institute
Child labor remains a top issue in 2024 state legislative sessions amid soaring violations and widespread abuse of child labor laws in multiple sectors of the economy. On one hand, the coordinated, industry-backed effort to roll back child labor protections state by state has continued to expand. At the same time, some state legislators are…
A strong labor market continues into 2024 with 353,000 jobs added in January | Economic Policy Institute
Below, EPI economists offer their insights on the jobs report released this morning, which showed 353,000 jobs added in January. From EPI senior economist, Elise Gould (@eliselgould): Read the full thread here. The unemployment rate held steady in January at 3.7%. 26 months in a row of 4.0% or below unemployment! Changes in the…
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey shows a strong—but not overheating—labor market | Economic Policy Institute
Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on today’s release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for December. Read the full thread here. The labor market is strong but not hot. Job growth continues to be more than enough to keep up with working age population growth and layoffs…
The soft bigotry of high expectations: To combat the Black-white school achievement gap, remedy persistent segregation, don’t hope for miracle teachers | Economic Policy Institute
Social psychologist Robert Rosenthal died at the age of 90 this month. He was best known for his 1968 book, Pygmalion in the Classroom, co-authored by Lenore Jacobson, an elementary school principal in South San Francisco. No book in the second half of the 20th century did more, unintentionally perhaps, to undermine support for public…
The economy isn’t sick right now—but it has chronic conditions that demand attention | Economic Policy Institute
Despite consumer sentiment about the economy improving through the end of 2023, there is still a disconnect between how people feel about the economy and what the data show. Consumer spending was up in 2023, especially through the holiday season, yet inflation anxiety and recession fears were still present. Where does this disconnect come from?…
Extending unemployment insurance to striking workers would cost little and encourage fair negotiations | Economic Policy Institute
Unions and collective action have long served as a vehicle for ensuring prosperity for working families and creating a more equal economy. Despite these critical functions, workers engaged in collective action, like strikes, have historically been barred from accessing safety net programs like unemployment insurance (UI). In a welcome development, state lawmakers are beginning to…
Don’t wait on wage growth—the Fed should cut rates at this week’s meeting | Economic Policy Institute
Over the past six months, core inflation has risen exactly in line with the Federal Reserve’s long-run 2% inflation target. When this key measure of inflation (which excludes volatile food and energy prices) is neither above nor below this target, this is a good sign that the Fed’s policy should be roughly neutral—aiming to neither…
Decline of labor unions weakens American democracy | Economic Policy Institute
Earlier today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that the share of workers represented by unions was 11.2% in 2023, down slightly from 11.3% in 2022. This news of stagnation is especially sobering for the American labor movement because the past year was full of major victories and growing momentum. The UAW’s ‘stand…
There’s no debate: Measurable income inequality has skyrocketed in recent decades | Economic Policy Institute
This is an excerpt from an op-ed that originally ran in CNN. Read the full op-ed here. In recent years, researchers have debated the simple question of whether inequality has risen a lot or a little in the United States over the past half-century. Lots of arguments in this debate surround highly technical issues like, “Should the income of owners…
State and local governments have only spent about half of American Rescue Plan funds as critical deadline nears | Economic Policy Institute
2024 is the last opportunity for state and local governments to make spending decisions on funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Many states, localities, and school districts still have considerable unspent ARPA funds. At a time when the public sector has still not fully recovered from the job losses of the pandemic,…
Youth subminimum wages and why they should be eliminated: Young workers face pay discrimination in 34 states and DC | Economic Policy Institute
In 2023, the issue of child labor re-emerged as a national crisis. Federal data on the rise of child labor violations and numerous investigative reports of widespread illegal youth employment garnered sustained media attention, sparking outrage from the public and lawmakers alike. At the same time, EPI has documented an ongoing, coordinated effort to roll back…
December jobs report caps another year of strong job growth | Economic Policy Institute
Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on the jobs report released this morning, which showed 216,000 jobs added in December. Read the full thread here. Payroll survey reports a strong labor market, household survey weaker: + payroll jobs up 216,000, with broad based gains, particularly in govt, health care, social assistance,…
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey: Quits, layoffs, and hires all continued to trend down in November | Economic Policy Institute
Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on today’s release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). Read the full thread here. The latest #JOLTS data out of the @BLS_gov this morning show that job openings held steady in November as hires and separations fell. Within total separations, the number of…