Nebraska has the 13th-lowest cost-of-living index nationally at 91.6, but infant child care costs there actually exceed the average monthly rent, according to LendingTree. Only 14% of Nebraska families meet HHS affordability guidelines, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
The Street
March 23, 2026
The targeting of immigrant construction workers is also likely to cause knock-on impacts. According to a July report by the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute, if Trump achieves his goal of deporting 4 million people by the end of 2028, 1.4m immigrants working in construction would be gone. And about 861,000 US-born workers would also lose their job because contractors would have to rapidly scale back.
The Guardian
March 23, 2026
The lowest paid workers did considerably better, which is a predictable result of the tight labor market in the years following the reopening. The Economic Policy Institute found that workers at the 10th decile of the wage distribution had a real pay increase of 15 percent between 2019 and 2024, the fastest pace of wage growth for low-paid workers in more than half a century.
Counterpunch
March 23, 2026
MIRA Executive Director Elizabeth Sweet, who thanked immigrants in the room for their courage to attend, cited a study from the Economic Policy Institute that estimates a continued federal deportation agenda could lead to the loss of six million jobs nationwide and approximately 4% of the workforce in Massachusetts.
Metrowest Daily News (MA)
March 23, 2026
Research published in the Economics of Education Review in 2021, which looked at 12 states, found there were “statistically significant negative effects” on maths achievement among pupils on a four-day week when there was low time in school, particularly for boys and low-income pupils. However, those with middling or high time in school saw no significant effects on performance.
Hilary Wething, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said the policy was therefore ineffective. “This is a pretty suboptimal solution to a problem of teacher shortages, which itself are caused by lack of funding.”
Times of London
March 23, 2026
Since 2021, 30 states have proposed legislation that would roll back child labor protections and regulations, with 17 states enacting rollbacks.
“They don’t just want to weaken state standards. They also have this broader goal of eroding the federal standards and the weakening of the state standards is a stepping stone toward that goal,” said Nina Mast, policy and economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute.
“If federal standards are eroded, then they have nothing in place to protect minors from hazardous work, exploitative conditions, being overscheduled, all these types of violations that we’re already seeing across the country,” said Mast.
The Guardian
March 23, 2026
Researchers from the Economic Policy Institute have since estimated H-2A workers could see their wages cut by somewhere between 26% and 32% each year. With the “downward pressure” those reduced wages for guest workers will place on domestic worker pay as well, U.S. farmworkers will likely see 9% reductions in pay. Combined, that’s an estimated $4.4 to $5.4 billion in wage cuts across all farmworkers.
Fresnoland
March 23, 2026
FRYING HIGHER — California should increase the $20 minimum wage for fast food workers to keep pace with inflation, argues a new paper by labor-aligned economists. The report from the Economic Policy Institute says the $20 wage — the result of a 2023 truce between fast food companies and labor unions — has improved earnings for workers and has not caused significant job loss. Now, Josh Bivens and Ben Zipperer write that the California Fast Food Council should prioritize a cost-of-living adjustment in 2026.
Politico California Playbook
March 23, 2026
The nonprofit think tank Economic Policy Institute has estimated the minimum wage for many farmworkers would fall to $13.70 an hour. Their average minimum wage last year was $17.43. California’s minimum wage is $16.90.
CalMatters
March 23, 2026
Black workers make up 18.6 percent of the federal workforce compared to 12.8 percent of civilian workers, according to Pew Research Center. Federal jobs have historically helped many Black Americans reach the middle class because government work offered stable pay, benefits and clear advancement opportunities, causing federal layoffs to hit Black workers especially hard, Economic Policy Institute researchers say.
The GW Hatchet
March 23, 2026