As the population hub of Teton County, Jackson, Wyoming’s picturesque downtown anchors a community of residents, tourists, and outdoor enthusiasts. Despite its modest size and charming rustic feel, Teton County is consistently ranked as one of the country’s wealthiest places. But not every resident is tucked behind a fat bank account. According to the Economic Policy Institute, this county is the most economically unequal in the country, with its top 1 percent making 142 times more than the average income of the rest of the population.
The Architect's Newspaper
February 20, 2026
Josh Bivens, chief economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal-leaning think tank, cautioned against looking at wage growth only over presidential terms, calling it “deeply misleading” because “macroeconomic cycles occasionally have huge effects that have nothing to do with presidential performance.”
Bivens noted that average wages jumped up during the COVID-19 pandemic when the unemployment rate also spiked as mainly low-wage workers lost their jobs. As those low-wage workers regained employment, “it had the effect of artificially lowering measured wages in the aggregate.” (Burtless also said the pandemic had this impact on wage data.)
“The lesson is that the proper way to measure macroeconomic variables like average wages is from business cycle peak to business cycle peak, not from the trough to a peak. That’s why, for example, we measure from 2019-2024 or 2025,” Bivens said.
FactCheck.org
February 20, 2026
By the numbers
1.4 percentage points
The amount by which the
Black women’s employment rate fell in 2025, marking one of the steepest one-year declines in the last 25 years, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank.
HR Dive
February 20, 2026
The increase in union membership and representation likely stems completely from a galvanized federal workforce whose members sought workers rights protections amid attacks from the Trump White House, Celine McNicholas, director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute, told TPM.
“It’s folks actively choosing to join their union, and it does make a little bit of intuitive sense if you think about it, while all of these attacks have been going on,” McNicholas said. “Those lawsuits trying to defend folks’ right to their jobs or their rights to collective bargaining are being led by the unions themselves.”
…
“I’ve heard many a union organizers say nothing motivates workers to speak up and demand representation like a terrible boss,” McNicholas said, “and I would argue Trump is the ultimate terrible boss.”
Talking Points Memo
February 20, 2026
Some 14.7 million workers were estimated to be members of unions in 2025, which is 10 percent of the workforce, narrowly up from the previous year. An additional 1.8 million were covered by a union contract but were not members. According to analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, nearly half the growth in union membership was in the South.
Labor Notes
February 20, 2026
According to job report data, as of early this year, nearly 6,000 veterans were fired from government jobs due to a wider effort to reduce the federal workforce.
And according to the Economic Policy Institute, it could jeopardize the careers of nearly 900,000 veterans and their spouses.
ABC News 4 (Charleston SC)
February 19, 2026
History tells us their concern is well-founded. According to the Economic Policy Institute, between 1948 and 1973 — during the dawn of the computing age — a 97% jump in productivity was coupled with an inflation-adjusted 91% increase in average hourly wages. Workers and employers shared in the gains of technological progress.
But between 1973 and 2013, productivity increased by another 74% while, when similarly adjusted for inflation, average hourly compensation increased by just 9%. Workers were getting more productive thanks to technological advancement, yet they were rarely the ones who benefitted.
Irish Examiner
February 19, 2026
Percent change in real wage by wage percentile is annual data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute and only available through 2025.
Bloomberg
February 19, 2026
Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute and former chief economist off the US Department of Labor, noted the increase of 463,000 workers represented by a union is the highest number in the US in 16 years.
“This is an extremely welcome departure from prior years’ declines,” Shierholz posted on Bluesky. “In a time of fear, uncertainty, and hardship, workers are realizing they are better off in a union. Workers are exerting control over their jobs and their lives through unionization. This is especially clear in the federal government, where unionization surged despite unprecedented attacks.”
She cited the increases in 2025 to “years of sustained effort. Organizing and winning union elections is a lengthy process, and the groundwork laid over many years definitely contributed to this year’s gains.”
The Guardian
February 18, 2026
KALW San Francisco
February 18, 2026