Black women in the U.S. suffered greater employment losses than other groups of women or Black men in 2025, and some of the largest losses were among college graduates and public-sector workers, according to new analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank.
HR Dive
February 18, 2026
Black women in the U.S. suffered greater employment losses than other groups of women or Black men in 2025, and some of the largest losses were among college graduates and public-sector workers, according to new analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank.
HR Dive
February 18, 2026
Features interview with Valerie Wilson.
Good Morning America
February 17, 2026
Colorado parents with two children — an infant and a 4-year-old — have to shell out about $37,800 per year for child care, according to the Economic Policy Institute. And the state spends far less than New Mexico and many other states to support families with child care payment assistance.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
The Colorado Sun
February 17, 2026
A new report by Valerie Wilson of the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., has analyzed the labor market changes among Black women in the United States during 2025, a year in which the national unemployment rate climbed to its highest point in four years, job growth slowed, and federal employment plummeted.
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
February 17, 2026
Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, said the Trump administration claims its immigration policies protect American jobs and workers, but evidence shows they undermine both.
“Current estimates indicate that if the administration succeeds in its goal of deporting one million immigrants annually, nearly six million jobs will be lost by the end of Trump’s term—including 2.6 million jobs held by U.S.-born workers,” she said. “Inhospitable shows what this looks like on the ground for hospitality workers, whose jobs are becoming harder and less secure as White House immigration policies destabilize their industry.”
Asian Hospitality
February 17, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute reports that the average American household income as of 2023 was $80,610. To be in the top 20% of earners, you’d have to make almost double the average, over $130,500 a year. (5) While the IRS benchmark for being a 1-percenter is income above $540,009 per year, the Institute puts that figure at $819,324 a year. (6)
MoneyWise
February 17, 2026
The landscape of unions has changed in the 21st century as America has moved from an industry-based economy to a more service-based economy, with traditional labor unions experiencing a decline in membership and organizing power. In the mid-20th century, unions represented nearly a third of private-sector workers; now that number hovers around 6%, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Cincinnati Enquirer
February 17, 2026