The State of Working America is EPI’s authoritative analysis of the economic conditions of America’s workers. Visit StateofWorkingAmerica.org for up-to-date numbers on the economy, updated when new data are released.
Aug. 29: Unions, inequality, and faltering middle-class wages
Union coverage rate in the United States, 1973–2011 Source: Author's analysis of Hirsch and Macpherson (2003) and updates from the Union Membership and Coverage Database |
- “Union membership down, income inequality up,” by Tami Luhby, CNN Money’s Economy Blog, Aug. 30
- “Decline in unions weakened overall wages,” by Diane Stafford, Kansas City Star, Aug. 29
July 24: U.S. poverty rates higher, safety net weaker than in peer countries
Child poverty rate in selected developed countries, 2009Note: The child poverty rate is the share of children living in households with income below half of household-size-adjusted median income. Source: Adamson (2012, Figure 1b) |
- “U.S. poverty on track to rise to highest since 1960s,” by Hope Yen, The Associated Press via Salon.com, July 22
- “This Week in Poverty: TANF, VAWA and Playing Politics with the Lives of Low-Income People,” by Greg Kaufman, The Nation, July 27
- “Poverty in America: Why Can’t We End It?” by Peter Edelman, New York Times, July 28
May 24: Labor force participation: Cyclical versus structural changes since the start of the Great Recession
- “Study: Baby-boomer retirements don’t explain unemployment figures,” by Ian Swanson, The Hill, May 24
- “Jobless rate hits 8.2%. ‘Missing workers’ make the situation look better than it is,” by Meteor Blades, Daily Kos, June 1
- “Core 25-54 Employment Rates Still Near Historic Lows,” by David Hogberg, Investor’s Business Daily, June 1
May 2: CEO pay and the top 1%: How executive compensation and financial-sector pay have fueled income inequality
CEO-to-worker compensation ratio, with options granted and options realized,1965–2011Note: "Options granted" compensation series includes salary, bonus, restricted stock grants, options granted, and long-term incentive payouts for CEOs at the top 350 firms ranked by sales. "Options exercised" compensation series includes salary, bonus, restricted stock grants, options exercised, and long-term incentive payouts for CEOs at the top 350 firms ranked by sales. Sources: Authors' analysis of data from Compustat ExecuComp database, Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics program, and Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income and Product Accounts Tables |
- “U.S. CEO’s pay 231 times higher than that of average workers,” by Marla Dickerson, Los Angeles Times, May 2
- The Ed Show, with Ed Schulz, MSNBC, May 2
- “Former Bain honcho says economic inequality is OK,” by Eve Tahmincioglu, MSNBC.com, May 2
- “CEO Pay Increased 127 Times Faster Than Worker Compensation Over Last 30 Years: Study,” by Ashley Portero, International Business Times, May 5
- “CEO pay transparency would make CEO pay too transparent, companies say,” Huffington Post, June 27
April 26: The wedges between productivity and median compensation growth
A third of EEOC charges include race- and/or sex-based charges: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges by fiscal year, 1997–2025
Fiscal Year
Total Charges
Sex
Race
1997
80,680
24,728
29,199
1998
79,591
24,454
28,820
1999
77,444
23,907
28,819
2000
79,896
25,194
28,945
2001
80,840
25,140
28,912
2002
84,442
25,536
29,910
2003
81,293
24,362
28,526
2004
79,432
24,249
27,696
2005
75,428
23,094
26,740
2006
75,768
23,247
27,238
2007
82,792
24,826
30,510
2008
95,402
28,372
33,937
2009
93,277
28,028
33,579
2010
99,922
29,029
35,890
2011
99,947
28,534
35,395
2012
99,412
30,356
33,512
2013
93,727
27,687
33,068
2014
88,778
26,027
31,073
2015
89,385
26,396
31,027
2016
91,503
26,934
32,309
2017
84,254
25,605
28,528
2018
76,418
24,655
24,600
2019
72,675
23,532
23,976
2020
67,448
21,398
22,064
2021
61,331
18,762
20,908
2022
73,485
19,805
20,992
2023
81,055
25,473
27,505
2024
88,531
26,872
30,270
2025
88,201
26,941
29,338
- “The Three Wedges That Separate Workers From Their Pay,” by Peter Coy, Bloomberg Businessweek, April 27
- “Where The Productivity Went,” by Paul Krugman, New York Times, April 28
- “Where Did All The Productivity Gains Go?” by Matt Yglesias, Slate, May 1
- “40 Years Of Workers Left Behind,” by Brian Beutler, Talking Points Memo, May 2
March 7: Entry-level workers’ wages fell in lost decade
Entry-level wages of male and female college graduates |
- “Young Adults See Their Pay Decline,” by James R. Hagerty, Wall Street Journal, March 6
- “College degree not worth what it was,” by Tami Luhby, CNN Money, March 7
- “Paychecks for young adults getting slimmer,” by Eve Tahmincioglu, MSNBC.com, March 7
Other media outlets and blogs that have covered the data include BBC News, Forbes, Gawker, Huffington Post, In These Times, MarketPlace Radio, National Journal, Politico, Reuters, Village Voice, and the Washington Post.