“The layoffs rate hit an historic low in December, lowest since the series began in 2000,” Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute says in a series of chained tweets. “Job openings increased in accommodations and food services as well as state and local government education, two sectors still suffering some of the largest job shortfalls since Feb 2020.”
Reuters
February 4, 2022
Higher wages are also luring workers into switching jobs, economists noted. Industries hired new workers at higher rates than the quits rate in every industry — a signal that workers who quit in December departed for other jobs, tweeted Elise Gould, an economist at the left-leaning think tank Economic Policy Institute.
CBS
February 4, 2022
Black workers lost 646,500 manufacturing jobs from 1998 to 2020, wiping out more than 30% of their employment in the sector, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute.
Axios
February 4, 2022
Not all people who quit are moving to better jobs. Some people are struggling to work because of ongoing disruptions with childcare, and others have had to quit because they don’t have paid sick time or are worried about facing increased health risks on the job, said Elise Gould, a senior economist for the Economic Policy Institute.
Reuters
February 4, 2022
Adam Hersh, who’s studied the economics surrounding Biden’s agenda as an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, indicated that this could prove to be a winning strategy. He told Newsweek that when it comes to this piece of legislation, it’s hard to find much wrong with it. Infrastructure has been needed in the United States for so long that, beyond potential temporary closures that may come during construction projects, the bill will largely be seen by Americas as a win once its effects reshape their communities, he said.
Newsweek
February 4, 2022
“The effects of that were felt throughout the eighties,” said Kyle Moore, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy. “Unemployment has well documented negative effects on folks’ psyche and their disposition.”
The Grio
February 4, 2022
We also look into the latest numbers on union membership in America with Margaret Poydock of the Economic Policy Institute (spoiler: it’s not good), the battle over gig work in Massachusetts, the end of the King Soopers strike, and more moves toward a four-day work week. For Argh, we consider nursing home workers’ striking for union recognition, and what happens when experimental art collectives unionize.
Dissent Magazine
February 4, 2022
The U.S. has lost more than 5 million manufacturing jobs within the past 25 years, hindering the financial mobility of workers without a college degree and taking a particularly heavy toll on workers of color, according to a new report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. At the same time, low-wage service jobs have soared.
USA Today
February 4, 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 4, 2022
Overall wages for leisure and hospitality employees are still strong relative to pre-pandemic times, but the deceleration in wages is largely attributed to the impact of the Omicron variant. “The scramble for available workers is a little less intense than it was six or seven months ago,” says Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute.
Time Magazine
February 4, 2022