Among demographic groups, the worst deterioration in the job market has been for Black workers, said Valerie Wilson, director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy.
“[In November] the Black unemployment rate rose to 8.3%, up from 7.5% in September,” she said.
Marketplace
January 12, 2026
For the first time, more Americans will earn a minimum wage of $15 or more than will earn the federal minimum of $7.25, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The federal rate has remained unchanged since 2009, despite broad public support for an increase.
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The increases, a majority of which took effect Jan. 1, will boost the earnings of about 8.3 million workers by a total of $5 billion, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
New York Times
January 12, 2026
According to a September 2025 report from the Economic Policy Institute, “This CEO-to-top-0.1% pay ratio has risen enormously in the past five decades. In 2023 (the last year available for the top 0.1% data series), this ratio was 7.5, meaning that CEOs were paid 7.5 times as much as even the most privileged 0.1% of workers in the economy. This is an extremely large change: It essentially means that the relative pay of CEOs increased by an amount equal to the total annual wages of nearly five of these very-high-wage earners.”
Investopedia
January 12, 2026
“Most of the rise in inequality over the last four decades has redistributed wages away from most workers.”- Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
Atlanta Journal Constitution
January 12, 2026
Of the more than 8.3 million workers set to benefit from these states’ minimum wage hikes, several demographics will be most affected, per the Economic Policy Institute. Women, who make up nearly 60% of the minimum wage workforce of the affected states, will see the biggest change. Then, Black and Latino workers will be affected most, as they disproportionately comprise the workforce. 10.7% of affected workers are Black, compared to being 8.7% of these states’ workforce. 38.3% affected workers are Latino, despite being 19.8% of these states’ workforce.
These hikes come at a pivotal time. The economy is buckling under a handful of pressures, and employment is suffering as a result. 2026 is preceded by a year with the most layoffs since the pandemic, rising unemployment, inflation, and business’ existential AI crisis. “Minimum wage increases are an essential tool for putting money in workers’ pockets,” especially right now, according to the EPI.
Essence
January 12, 2026
A 2006 law called the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act put the agency under a financial constraint that it has yet to recover from, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis. Among other things, the bill required the agency to prefund health insurance costs for its retired employees at an accelerated rate while restricting how it can invest its money to pay for that.
“No other entity — public or private — has been forced to prefund the cost of retiree benefits under such conditions,” the analysis says.
Facilities Dive
January 12, 2026
Losing affordable coverage could undo years of progress in closing racial gaps in health insurance. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimates that ending the subsidies may leave 170,000 Black Americans without insurance, make Black households pay $740 million more each year, and lead to over 200 preventable deaths annually in cities like Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, and Miami.
The economic consequences don’t end there for these cities, which are home to large Black populations. The EPI projects that these metropolises will lose more than $1.9 billion a year as healthcare costs choke out consumer spending. The ripple effect: shrinking Black household budgets that squeeze necessities like food, rent, and childcare while stifling the ability to save and build wealth. The impact is expected to intensify long-standing economic inequalities, further eroding a fragile middle class.
The Root
January 12, 2026
The changes will add $5 billion to the pockets of more than 8.3 million workers, the Economic Policy Institute estimated in December. Critics note that minimum wage hikes increase costs for businesses, which might fire, or not hire, employees.
If $5 billion does not sound all that significant, consider this detail from EPI: “For the first time, there will be more workers in states with a $15 or greater minimum wage than in states with the federal minimum.” The federal minimum hourly wage has been locked at $7.25 since 2009.
U.S. News & World Report
January 12, 2026
For the first time, more workers now live in states that pay $15 or higher per hour than those that have kept the $7.25 minimum, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, which estimated the number of workers affected by this year’s increases.
Wall Street Journal
January 12, 2026
Workers in New Jersey will see more money in their paychecks in 2026. Starting on Jan. 1, the minimum wage in New Jersey increased by 43 cents per hour for most employees, bringing it to $15.92. New Jersey is one of 19 states that raised the minimum wage in 2026, affecting about 8.3 million workers nationwide, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
ROI NJ
January 12, 2026