EPI in the news

• The 15 worst US states to be a teacher

  But teaching has been in crisis before March. Since the Great Recession of 2008, the country has lost 60,000 jobs in education, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Not only that, but 247,000 more teaching jobs should have been created to keep up with growing student enrollment as the population increases. This has resulted in a shortfall of 307,000 teaching jobs — meaning over 300,000 educators are currently needed right now.

  Business Insider | September 22, 2020
• Q13 News This Morning

  q. thirteen news this morning rocking a little earth wind and fire to get things rolling here for the new school year- proving to be a major challenge for everyone students parents and teachers and now consider the fact that teachers are paid almost 20% less than similar workers according to a new study. The Economic Policy Institute finds teachers who generally get better benefits than similar workers are still grossly underpaid taking into consideration education, experience, and demographic factors. Teachers are paid about 19% less than similar workers and the study also found the teachers in our state are among the eight lowest paid in the nation. The study authors say teachers deserve fair pay especially during a pandemic when their personal safety is at risk and they also say the pay gap is forcing good teachers out of the profession and discouraging young people to pursue teaching careers.

  Q13 FOX | September 22, 2020
• Analysis: Young and Black Davidson County residents disproportionately need unemployment benefits

  Between February and May the number of Davidson county residents in their early 20s that received unemployment benefits rose nearly six times.

  Senior economist Elise Gould with the Economic Policy Institute says the Great Recession showed us how being unemployed early stays with you.

  “Starting a career at that point can be hugely detrimental for your lifetime earnings, for your wages, for whether or not you’re going to have unemployment spells throughout your career,” Gould says.

  Nashville Public Radio | September 22, 2020
• Rebounding stocks, surging wealth for the haves and ‘widespread economic misery’ for the have-nots during pandemic

  What little economic lifeline some households have been relying on could soon end. As Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy at Economic Policy Institute, wrote Thursday:

  Another 1.5 million people applied for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits last week. That includes 860,000 people who applied for regular state UI and 659,000 who applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). PUA is the federal program for workers who are not eligible for regular unemployment insurance, like gig workers. It provides up to 39 weeks of benefits, but it is set to expire at the end of this year.

  Last week was the 26th week in a row total initial claims were far greater than the worst week of the Great Recession.

  Common Dreams | September 22, 2020
• Civil rights leaders at the head of the NAACP and the National Urban League say Americans get 2 things wrong about the racial wealth gap

  The racial wage gap has widened considerably over the last 20 years thanks in part to wage discrimination. A study by the Economic Policy Institute last year found that even Black workers with an advanced degree are paid less than their white counterparts. Controlling for age, gender, education, and region, Black workers are paid 14.9% less than white workers.

  Business Insider | September 22, 2020
• The Supreme Court’s Obamacare case was high stakes before Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death. Here’s why it’s even more important now

  A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, non-partisan think tank, estimated that around 6.2 million workers lost access to health insurance they got through their employers as a result of being let go since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. That figure takes into account workers who were originally laid off but have since found new employment.

  MarketWatch | September 22, 2020
• Trump officials rush to make it tougher for skilled foreign workers to gain visas

  Some advocates of reforming the H-1B program are also skeptical.

  “If they really had prioritized this and cared about it, they would have done it months ago, if not years ago,” said Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

  Reuters | September 22, 2020

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