The high quit rate for US workers can be attributed to employees moving on to higher paid jobs with better benefits – not simply leaving their roles to follow passions or start afresh. White House economists are stressing that what has been termed the “Great Resignation” is actually the “Great Upgrade”, as workers are staying in the labour market and looking for positions where they can provide for their families. President Joe Biden was keen to point out US unemployment has fallen below 4% for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, while hiring rates are surpassing quit rates, particularly for lower-wage workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Curation
February 3, 2022
“Teachers don’t go into their occupation to get rich,” said Lawrence Mishel, a labor economist at the Economic Policy Institute, and one of authors of that study. “But they do have some expectation of being able to provide for the family and have a house and send their own kids to college. And I think that’s exceedingly difficult.”
Marketplace
February 2, 2022
according to a 2019 report from the Economic Policy Institute. In the last 10 years, the salary of teachers in Texas has stayed about…(paywall).
San Antonio News-Express
January 28, 2022
Overall, the Economic Policy Institutes calculates, major U.S. corporate CEOs averaged 351 times typical worker pay in 2020. In 1965, by comparison, CEOs pocketed just over 20 times typical worker pay. The gap between U.S. worker and top corporate executive compensation has essentially multiplied over fifteen-fold since the mid-20th century.
Inequality.org
January 28, 2022
New data from the Economic Policy Institute found that increased price inflation was caused by a global supply chain crisis that focuses on durable goods instead of face-to-face services.
Next City
January 28, 2022
It’s hard to tell how many workers will see their paychecks grow, considering the current volatile job market, says Julia Wolfe, a state economic analyst for the Economic Policy Institute. But roughly 39 million people — 28% of the workforce — earned less than $15 dollars an hour in 2019, before the pandemic hit.
The Center for Public Integrity
January 28, 2022
In Wisconsin, a shortage of reliable and high-quality day care predated COVID-19, and the demands that came with the pandemic has tended to make care less reliable and more expensive. According to a 2020 analysis by the liberal Economic Policy Institute, the average cost for infant care in Wisconsin is more than $12,500 per year; care for a 4-year-old costs an average of more than $10,000 per year.
Wisconsin Public Radio
January 28, 2022
The report also says that the pension and health care benefits for local public employees in Virginia is less generous than in other parts of the country, and that local government employees in Virginia are paid 30% less than private sector workers with similar levels of education, age and hours worked, according to a 2021 study by the Economic Policy Institute.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
January 28, 2022
The Economic Policy Institute noted in April 2020 that job losses have hit Black people especially hard, and for those who are working service jobs, essential workers gigs, the pandemic put them at risk of death.
New York Amsterdam News
January 28, 2022
Unsurprisingly, the union-backed Economic Policy Institute echoed that position. “The substantial level of union activity in 2021 (including organizing drives and strikes), along with polling data showing the large share of workers who would like a union at their workplace, demonstrate that workers want and value unions,” it opined.
The 74 Million
January 28, 2022