Publications

Many workers who have not lost their jobs during the recession have lost wages. Wage growth slowed dramatically in recent months and many employers are cutting hours, threatening to further limit consumer consumption and delay an economic recovery.

The latest statistics on unemployment, underemployment, worker productivity, health care coverage, and job and retirement security.

A new Policy Memo responds to a recent study on teacher pensions and takes a closer look at why current benefit formulas are structured the way they are.

Contrary to popular assumption, stimulus spending under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been a very small factor in the expansion of the federal budget deficit in 2009. Many policies that pre-date the Obama Administration, including Bush-era spending on the wars in Iran and Afghanistan, are key factors in the growing deficit.

After only six months, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is beginning to have an effect on the economy, boosting growth and creating jobs. A new EPI report analyzes the data on the current and future impact of the recovery act and shows how it has kept the economy from being in far worse condition.

This ratio is unchanged from the revised May numbers -- the first time in over a year that the ratio has not increased and one more sign that while the situation for job seekers remains extremely dire, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is now having an important effect in creating and preserving jobs.

The July unemployment report released this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that 247,000 more jobs were lost in July as unemployment declined slightly by 0.1 percentage points to 9.4%. At the same time, the number of workers who have been unemployed for over six months increased by 584,000 to 5 million, so that now over one-third of this country's 14.5 million unemployed workers have been unemployed for over half a year.

An essential component of the health care reform debate is providing affordable coverage, or subsidies, to those who cannot currently afford health insurance. Legislation in Congress would limit the maximum amount families under 400% of the federal poverty line could pay on insurance premiums, but some policy makers would like to reduce that eligibility for subsidies. Such reductions would force many middle-income families to spend substantial portions -- easily 15% to 20% -- of their household income on premiums. A new EPI Issue Brief shows how reducing these subsidies will affect  families in each of the 50 states.