Media clips
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“Weekly wages for typical workers in leisure and hospitality translate to annual earnings of $20,714, far (far) lower than in other sectors, even with the recent acceleration. Those increases are not going to create broad wage pressure,” tweeted Heidi Shierholz, policy director at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank. She added that measured wages included tips, which had fallen off substantially when dining was banned or limited.
“Recent wage growth in restaurants may not be largely from employers raising pay to attract workers, but from workers’ hourly tips—which plummeted during the downturn—normalizing as customers return,” she added.
The Hill June 11, 2021 -
Economic Policy Institute (EPI) economist Elise Gould, one of our best analysts on employment data, sees the report as a “promising sign that the recovery is on track.” But she also notes that the “jobs shortfall” compared to pre-pandemic trends is “in the range of 8.6-10.7 million” additional jobs. If this trend keeps up, Gould says the unemployment rate could hit 4% “by mid-2022” with full recovery before that year ends.
Forbes June 11, 2021 -
I really like this point from Heidi Shierholz at the Economic Policy Institute. She was the chief Labor Department economist during the Obama administration. She notes that we’re still down 7.6 million jobs from before the pandemic, but…
“7.6 million is not the total gap in the labor market. Without COVID, we would have added jobs over the last 15 months as the working-age population grew. Taking that into account, the total gap in the labor market right now is at least 8.5 million jobs.”
Bloomberg June 11, 2021 -
Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, wrote on Twitter that the industry is still below pre-pandemic employment by about 2.5 million. She added she’s “optimistic that we will continue to see solid growth in coming months as vaccine distribution continues and businesses find it safe to reopen.”
Business Insider June 11, 2021 -
Low-wage sectors have seen swifter job growth than higher-wage sectors in recent months. This is exactly the opposite of what you would expect to find if unemployment benefits were keeping people from working. This is because pandemic programs, like the extra $300 weekly benefit, are worth much more to low-wage workers than to higher-wage workers. Unemployment insurance, then, is not hampering job growth.
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Finally, the 25 states cutting pandemic programs are weakening their own recoveries. The recipients of benefits in these states are expected to lose $22 billion in aid, and as a consequence these states will be forgoing an enormous amount of economic activity.
For lawmakers creating policy that will shape the future of a recovery, affecting both the larger economy and the lives of those hardest hit by the recession: Look at the facts.
The New York Times June 11, 2021 -
A new paper from the Economic Policy Institute analyzes where America’s wages would be if worker pay actually tracked with worker productivity. They found that the median American worker earns $9.95 less per hour than their counterparts from 40 years ago.
Let me say that again: If you’re a typical American worker, you should be earning about $10 more per hour than you actually do. You’re working harder than your parents and grandparents, and you’re making, on average, $400 less per week than they did.
The EPI paper doesn’t stop there: It also disproves 40 years of trickle-down lies that mysterious “market forces” are the cause of sluggish wage growth. Policy choices, not the invisible hand, have taken this money out of your paycheck and leveraged it over to wealthy Americans, and EPI actually put a price tag on every single trickle-down policy and what it’s cost you out of your paycheck.
In this week’s episode of “Pitchfork Economics,” economist Larry Mishel and EPI director of research Josh Bivens discuss their findings and characterize the three biggest trickle-down policy decisions that have resulted in American workers making much less over the last 40 years.
Business Insider June 11, 2021 -
With the economy down 7 million jobs from February 2020 and low labor force participation rates, the numbers don’t add up to a labor shortage, according to economists and union leaders.
Elise Gould, a senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute, explained that employers are fundamentally having trouble finding the workers they want at the wages they want to pay them. “We’re not seeing the acceleration in wages that suggests they [employers] are trying that hard. And I think if they were, you’d see it in wage growth,” she said.
Sinclair Broadcast Group June 11, 2021 -
The decision by Republican governors in 25 states — including Maryland last week — to pull out of federal unemployment insurance (UI) support in their states is dangerously shortsighted. The most recent data show that the economy is improving but still far from healthy. Cutting back aid for jobless workers now, while suitable jobs are still not available for many of them, is not just cruel — it is damaging to these states’ long-term economic health.
A robust unemployment insurance system serves three main purposes. The first is straightforward — providing a financial cushion to workers who lose their job through no fault of their own, so that they can still pay the bills and keep food on the table while they search for new employment. Aside from being the humane thing to do, providing this safety net is also economically prudent. No state economy benefits from workers and families falling behind on mortgages or auto loans, being evicted, having cars and homes repossessed, cutting back on food, or delaying or opting out of needed health care. Yet, these outcomes will become more likely in the states cutting aid for the jobless.
The Hill June 11, 2021 -
June 11, 2021
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Josh Bivens/Economic Policy Institute: “They should definitely stand pat.” Fed officials view the price spike as a temporary consequence of the economy’s rapid reopening….and say supply will eventually rise to meet demand. “We’re measuring prices relative to a year ago and prices had just collapsed. and so if you take out what economists call that base effect, you get numbers more like just over 2% for core inflation over the past 12 months. That’s not much to worry about at all.”
Hearst TV June 11, 2021