On Labor Day, jobs crisis persists
September 3, 2010
Millions of Americans struggle to find work, decent pay. Read More

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Investing in the futurePresident Obama’s proposal to invest in the nation’s long-neglected infrastructure would create good jobs and lay the foundation for future economic growth. Multiple EPI reports have outlined the value of this sort of investment. |
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14.9 million unemployed on Labor DayThe private sector added 67,000 jobs in August but unemployment remains persistently high. |
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Making immigration work for all workersEPI's recently expanded its immigration program. Staff experts outline how immigration research relates to EPI’s broader mission. |
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Test failureA new paper finds broad consensus that standardized tests – even with the addition of value-added modeling -- fail to accurately measure both student and teacher performance. |
Key data on the state of the labor market in 2010 Read More
Millions of Americans struggle to find work, decent pay. Read More
The fastest-growing occupations in the U.S. pay close to minimum wage. Read More
September 3, 9:09am
The August employment report showed subpar employment growth. The unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point to 9.6% in August, while the private sector added just 67,000 jobs. This was the eighth straight month of gains in the private sector, but it was lower than the average 99,000 monthly job gains of the first seven months, and it is not robust enough to bring the unemployment rate down.
Private sector employment growth, while positive, is underperforming, and not strong enough to provide jobs for new workers and the 14.9 million unemployed workers anytime soon.
It is time for the government to do substantially more to create jobs. With a 9.6% unemployment rate and slowing wage growth, the private sector as yet unable to provide a robust jobs recovery, and the Recovery Act fading out, it is time for bold action to create jobs and put America back to work. -Heidi Shierholz
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