Some of this is only becoming more obvious, including to myself, in an era when stable, full-time employment is evaporating, and holding on to any job is its own kind of feat. The Economic Policy Institute calculates that the failed political response to the pandemic has left nearly 16 percent of the workforce—26.8 million people—unemployed or employed but losing hours and pay. And having work isn’t necessarily a guarantee against hardship—even before the current recession, one in nine workers received wages too low to get out of poverty, even if they worked full-time hours. But the idea of a dream job is still catnip. There’s a slew of self-help articles advertising tips on how to Land Your Dream Job by the End of the Year or 9 Genuine Steps to Quit Your Job and Fulfill Your Dream. Indeed.com lists info for 25 dream jobs, three-quarters of which have an average national salary of less than $50,000 per year.
The New Republic
January 14, 2021
Unions are legally required to represent all workers in a unionized workplace, whether individual workers are union members or not. According to Margaret Poydock, who focuses on workplace and labor issues at the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C., right-to-work in practice strains unions by creating the so-called free rider problem: “If you decide not to pay your dues, you can be not [a member of] the union, but you’re still getting all the benefits that the union negotiates over.”
Montana Free Press
January 14, 2021
Last year 8% of Blacks in the state were unemployed, compared to 3.3% of whites, according to 2020 Q1 and Q2 data from the Economic Policy Institute’s most recent report.
Dover Post
January 14, 2021
“Letting this extra $600 in unemployment insurance benefit expire at the end of July would by itself cause more job loss than was seen in either of the recessions of the early 1990s or early 2000s,” writes Josh Bivens, director of research for the Economic Policy Institute.
CNBC
January 13, 2021
The biggest setback could be felt by Black women; those over 20 saw 14% unemployment last month, compared to 10.3% unemployment for White women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That rate of unemployment for Black women is higher than that of Black men, White women, and White men. And Black women are already struggling with a much larger pay gap: they earn 62 cents for every dollar White men earn, while White women earn 79 cents on the dollar, according to LeanIn. And Black workers and their families are more likely to face health risks from the coronavirus, as they comprise a greater percentage of front-line workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
CNBC
January 13, 2021
Yet unemployment during a health crisis can be especially challenging in the U.S. since about 49% of Americans get health insurance through their employer. As many as 16.2 million workers are at risk of losing their employer-provided health insurance in the middle of a national health crisis, according to the latest estimates from the Economic Policy Institute.
CNBC
January 13, 2021
As much as $3 trillion could be needed to ensure a swift economic recovery, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The left-leaning think tank noted that the most recent stimulus package omitted funding for state and local governments, which have seen a plunge in tax revenue due to the crisis.
CBS News
January 13, 2021
The Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank, says that “26.8 million workers—15.8% of the workforce—are either unemployed, otherwise out of work due to the pandemic, or employed but experiencing a drop in hours and pay.” Adding to the woe, up to forty million Americans could soon face eviction, and ten per cent of families with children under age five say they don’t have sufficient food.
The New Yorker
January 13, 2021
The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, blamed law enforcement for the security collapse, pointing out that some Capitol Police officers “were seen taking selfies with protesters and letting them through a barricaded area,” according to a statement. It was a “stark contrast” with the summer’s protests, the statement said, during which police “used tear gas and rubber bullets against peaceful Black Lives Matters protestors” fighting systemic racism.
U.S. News & World Report
January 13, 2021
According to the Economic Policy Institute, just 5% of Black workers and one-sixth of Latinx workers, in general, have the ability to telecommute. An overwhelming majority of those jobs are held by Black and Latino men.
Black Enterprise
January 13, 2021