Media clips

• Here’s what makes a jobs report ‘shocking’
  How to read jobs reports. I’ve talked about previous reports with Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, including what we do and do not learn from these reports.

  She said they need to be viewed as pieces of information, not the full picture, in part because the surveys can overstate things and miss the changing composition of the workforce.

  Still, it’s best to know the latest information, even if we know it’s likely to change, she said.
  CNN February 11, 2022
• Should workers stop asking for raises to rein in inflation? One central bank says yes

  1 thing central bankers are worried about in 2022,” said Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think (paywall).

  MarketWatch February 11, 2022
• Retirements Cut Ranks of Scarce Frontline Workers

  As a policy matter, states and cities should think about requirements that would make public-facing jobs safer so older people feel comfortable returning to them, at least part time, said Monique Morrisey, an economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute specializing in retirement security. A healthier generation of older workers has become a mainstay of the workforce in recent years.

  Route Fifty February 11, 2022
• Black unemployment rate dips, labor force participation rises in January

  The month-to-month economic readings for Black women and other minority groups can be particularly volatile due to smaller population size, according to Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

  CNBC February 11, 2022
• Black-owned businesses took a pandemic hit, but they’re doing better than ever now — largely because of Black women

  Black workers, along with Hispanic and Asian-American ones, are more likely to get paid poverty-level wages than their white counterparts, according to a 2018 report by the Economic Policy Institute. 

  Business Insider February 11, 2022
• New analysis shows Arizona child care costs more than college tuition

  A new analysis is looking at one of the most pressing issues in our country: rising child care costs. According to the Economic Policy Institute, Arizona is one of 33 states where infant child care is more expensive than in-state college tuition. “It is definitely frustrating. It is frustrating on multiple factors because women end up being the brunt of it,” said Natacha Chavez.

  AZ Family February 11, 2022
• Oregon overtime bill likely to pit agricultural workers against farmers

  “There’s just no valid argument, I think, for excluding agriculture,” said Daniel Costa, Director of Immigration Law and Policy Research at the Economic Policy Institute based in Washington, D.C. 

  Costa has worked at EPI for 11 years, looking specifically at the intersection of immigration and labor policy issues. The nonprofit, nonpartisan institute was established in 1986 to include the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions.

  Statesman Journal February 11, 2022
• How sick did the omicron variant make the job market?

  Well, we already know that the omicron wave has started to fade. You know, this was a very sharp spike but also a fairly short spike. And Elise Gould, who’s a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, says daily infections have already fallen by more than half from where they were in the middle of last month.

  NPR Morning Edition February 11, 2022
• Economists Say Raise Pay to Solve Public School Staffing Crisis

  According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), which first presented its research last week to a task force of the American Federation of Teachers, employment in public elementary and secondary schools decreased by nearly 5% overall from fall 2019 to fall 2021. The number of people employed as teachers fell by 6.8%, bus drivers by 14.6%, and custodians by 6%.

  Common Dreams February 11, 2022
• Man Claims His Teen Makes More Than Teacher Wife With Master’s

  According to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, teachers in the public high school sector made around 19.2 percent less than other types of workers who also went to college as of 2019. Teachers in the country have made less money on a consistent basis when compared to their counterparts in other fields, an exception being the 1960s.

  Newsweek February 11, 2022