Media clips

• Push for retail hourly pay hikes increase as labor market remains tight

  The federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour hasn’t been touched in over a decade. But at least 30 states have higher minimum wages, according to the Economic Policy Institute, with as many as 46 localities like Los Angeles County, Chicago, and New York City requiring higher minimum wages than their states. 

  Modern Retail July 15, 2022
• Data show biz claimed to add net of 381K new jobs

  The catch to the corporate complaints, as Economic Policy Institute President Heidi Shierholz pointed out, is that the same firms yowling about the lack of workers in a booming recovery won’t raise wages to attract new people. In so many words, try paying them.

  People’s World July 15, 2022
• The economy added 372,000 jobs in June, outpacing expectations

  But if the Fed is too aggressive, that could potentially backfire, noted Josh Bivens, director of economic research at the Economic Policy Institute.

  CNN Business July 15, 2022
• 15 U.S. companies offering abortion benefits to staff

  As people struggle to access healthcare, one obvious knock-on effect is the cost of accessing services out of state. “This decision will cause immediate economic pain in 26 states where abortion bans are most likely and where people already face lower wages, less worker power, and limited access to health care,” Heidi Shierholz, the president of the Economic Policy Institute, said in a statement

  Venture Beat July 15, 2022
• US employers’ support for workers’ abortion care leaves serious gaps

  “It is not a direct solution to having these rights being codified at the state or federal level. At the end of the day, someone needing an abortion should not have to go to their employer, who they just have to hope is well-meaning, and it’s very likely that workers in low-wage industries with few workplace protections or benefits, like paid leave, will not have access to this new benefit,” said Asha Banerjee, an economic policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute.

  The Guardian July 15, 2022
• A lack of affordable child care is keeping women out of the workforce

  Valerie Wilson at the Economic Policy Institute points out that child care systems also don’t often accommodate parents who work odd hours. “This is particularly important for low-wage earners, because their scheduling tends to be less consistent,” she said. “For that group, the supply of available child care providers is even more limited.”

  Marketplace July 15, 2022
• Food items to avoid buying if you want to cut your grocery bill
  … to a hot inflation reading,” said Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank. (paywall)
  MarketWatch July 15, 2022
• Pay increases are slowing down, but that might be good thing, experts say. Here’s why

  The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank that researches economic trends and policies, identifies nominal wage growth as “a crucial measure of how far from full recovery the economy remains.”

  Miami Herald July 15, 2022
• FTC Authority To Ban Noncompetes Shaky After EPA Ruling
  The Economic Policy Institutes attempts to explain the difference between the…(paywall).
  Law 360 July 15, 2022
• U.S. inflation rises 9.1% in June, more than economists expected; the highest rate in four decades

  In an NBC News report, Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank, said inflation is hitting low-income families the hardest because so much of their household spending goes to essentials such as food, gas and housing expenses.

  WXII-12 July 15, 2022