Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, rejects the argument that a wage hike would lead to job losses.
“That claim of job loss isn’t supported by evidence — it’s likely an overestimate of negative employment impact. But even if you accept their findings, they still find the benefits far outweigh the costs,” Shierholz, formerly the Labor Department’s chief economist under Barack Obama, told CBS MoneyWatch.
CBS Moneywatch
January 19, 2021
And things aren’t turning around. In early January, we got a very bad employment report for December 2020. Aside from an overall national decline of 140,000 jobs, economist Elise Gould at the Economic Policy Institute noted “state and local government employment continued to decline” for the fourth month in a row, feeding a cumulative “shortfall of 1.4 million from pre-pandemic conditions,” especially in education.
Forbes
January 19, 2021
“Last week was the 43rd straight week total initial claims were greater than the worst week of the Great Recession,” Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute wrote.
The Fiscal Times
January 19, 2021
By Josh Bivens, a statement by the Economic Policy Institute
Today, President-elect Biden announced a proposed relief and recovery package that provides relief that is commensurate with the scale of the economic challenge facing the United States, due to the harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The urgent economic priorities facing the nation are simple: get control over the spread of the virus and then ensure that U.S. households, businesses, and governments spend and invest enough to radically reduce unemployment and boost workers’ wages. The Biden package ticks these boxes. The continuation of enhanced pandemic-related unemployment insurance programs, the substantial fiscal aid to state and local governments, the investments in virus control and mitigation, and the increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour are all absolutely essential for rapid relief and a fast and equitable recovery.
24/7 Wall Street
January 19, 2021
According to the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute, this week’s data is “messy” — President Trump did not sign a bill expanding unemployment benefits until a day after benefits expired, leading to confusion and some people needing to re-apply for benefits — but EPI’s read of the data is that layoffs are increasing as states roll back reopening plans.
Next City
January 19, 2021
An analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank based in Washington, D.C., found that the average annual cost of infant care in Virginia is $14,000. It goes down to $11,000 for a 4-year-old.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
January 19, 2021
However, the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank, argues that a breakdown of Bureau of Labor Statistics figures and other estimates based on those paint a far bleaker picture due to the business closures and public health restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It estimates that approximately 26.8 million workers are being negatively affected — or nearly 16% of the workforce.
MarketWatch
January 19, 2021
“The solution to low pay is clear. By raising the minimum wage to $15, we can benefit nearly 40 million Americans — predominantly women and workers of color — while reducing the racial wealth gap and giving millions of essential workers who put their lives on the line every day a permanent raise,” Fight for $15 writes, citing data from the Brookings Institute and the Economic Policy Institute.
Fox Business
January 19, 2021
“The solution to low pay is clear,” says Fight for 15, which has strong union support, led by the Service Employees. “By raising the minimum wage to $15, we can benefit nearly 40 million Americans—predominantly women and workers of color—while reducing the racial wealth gap and giving millions of essential workers who put their lives on the line every day a permanent raise.”
That impact figure is low, since the movement took it from a two-year-old Economic Policy Institute report, far before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Still, that study shows 60% of the 39.7 million workers who would benefit from the raise were full-timers and 55% were women. Combined, all those workers cared for almost 15 million kids. Some 5.4 million workers were single parents, EPI reported.
People's Weekly World
January 19, 2021