Comparing unemployment levels today to pre-pandemic rates in 2019, Elise Gould, senior economist for the Economic Policy Institute, highlighted decreases in joblessness among Black Americans and young adults. Gould wrote in a statement that she sees “a strong (but decidedly not overheated) labor market” rather than a weakening one.
Courthouse News Service
July 8, 2024
Unemployment in June is forecast to hold steady at 4%, which would point to stable job growth. To that end, Elise Gould, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, noted in a report that the jobless rate for young adults is now on par with before the pandemic.
CBS Moneywatch
July 8, 2024
There’s also variation by income level, said Valerie Wilson, director of the Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy at the Economic Policy Institute.
“While wages have grown across the board, we’ve actually had the strongest wage growth among the lowest earners,” she said.
Marketplace
July 8, 2024
The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour has not changed since 2009 and isn’t likely to change again anytime soon. However, a dozen states automatically hike the wage each year to account for inflation, the Economic Policy Institute reported.
GO Banking Rates
July 8, 2024
“There aren’t very good options for diversifying away” from Chinese graphite, said Adam Hersh, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank based in Washington, D.C. No matter what building a domestic industry involves “a lot of upfront cost,” he said.
E&E News by Politico
July 8, 2024
While some argue that immigrant labor undermines wages for native-born workers, studies from the Economic Policy Institute show that the overall effect of immigration on wages is minimal to positive.
Des Moines Register
July 8, 2024
In general, labor market data over the past few months has shown a slowing in the pace of hiring as the employment picture reverts back to normal after the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Unemployment rates today are comparable to 2019,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. “Sustained low unemployment over the last 2.5 years has disproportionately benefited Black workers who have lower unemployment now than in 2019, leading to a slow narrowing of the persistent Black unemployment gap.”
U.S. News & World Report
July 8, 2024
Quotes Celine McNicholas. [Paywall].
Law360
July 8, 2024
Jennifer Sherer is director of State Worker Power Initiative at the Economic Policy Institute, an independent, nonprofit think tank that seeks to strengthen labor standards and protect workers’ rights to unionize.
Sherer said The Iowa Restaurant Association has consistently misled its members by encouraging them to ignore federal child labor laws, and invited federal scrutiny.
“It’s a really appalling instance of Republicans colluding with industry groups to misinform the public, misinform parents and teens, and really do a serious disservice to Iowa businesses,” she said.
The Gazette
July 8, 2024
States that tie minimum wage increases to inflation adjust their wages as of Jan. 1, unless otherwise listed, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
NerdWallet
July 8, 2024