On Wednesday, August 27th, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, the Economic Policy Institute will hold a media call to discuss the latest data on wage growth. This new data coincides with the Labor Day holiday and provides an opportunity to assess the state of the American worker.
In Why America’s Workers Need Faster Wage Growth—And What We Can Do About It, economist Elise Gould examines newly released wage data and finds that the last year has been a poor one for American workers’ wages. Comparing the first half of 2014 with the first half of 2013, real hourly wages fell for workers in nearly every decile—even for those with a college degree.
Gould will explain why raising wages is essential to ending inequality and raising living standards for the vast majority and how the wage stagnation of the last few decades was caused by policy changes instigated by big corporations and CEOs.
The new wage data is further evidence that the Federal Reserve should not be too quick to raise interest rates: there is a great deal of room for wages to grow before generating inflationary pressure.
What: Press call to discuss new paper, Why America’s Workers Need Faster Wage Growth—And What We Can Do About It
Who: EPI economist Elise Gould
When: Wednesday, August 27th
11:00 a.m. Eastern
Call in number: 800-311-9402
Passcode: 9796
To RSVP and receive an embargoed copy of the paper email news@epi.org.