Some 14.7 million workers were estimated to be members of unions in 2025, which is 10 percent of the workforce, narrowly up from the previous year. An additional 1.8 million were covered by a union contract but were not members. According to analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, nearly half the growth in union membership was in the South.
Labor Notes
February 23, 2026
Based on Economic Policy Institute data on minimum wages across the country and minimum tipped credit wages, all five of the highest-tipping states have a tip credit structure in place, reducing the minimum wage to $2.13 to $3.36, depending on the state. Conversely, Texas is the only one of the five lowest-tipping states to have this structure, while the lowest-tipped wage for the remaining four is $10.98 in Florida.
Stacker
February 23, 2026
It makes sense. When prices rise fast, people feel the pain of every dollar. In 2022, inflation peaked at over 9%.
“That hit people really hard,” said Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute. Around 2021 and 2022, inflation rose nearly as much as it had during the 10 years before. “That was too fast for people to just adjust their expectations of how much things cost.”
Marketplace
February 23, 2026
Democrats have zeroed in on affordability messaging as their political lifeline following their 2024 defeats. As Democratic governors have entered midterm-year legislative sessions, they’re leaning heavily into proposals designed to hit quickly and visibly.
“If they’re able to implement them quickly—like, for instance, the cap on utility rates that a number of governors have proposed—people could see that in their electric bills right away,” said David Cooper, director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network. “So that’s something that could have an immediate impact.”
National Journal
February 23, 2026
According to job report data, as of early this year, nearly 6,000 veterans were fired from government jobs due to a wider effort to reduce the federal workforce.
And according to the Economic Policy Institute, it could jeopardize the careers of nearly 900,000 veterans and their spouses.
ABC News 4 (Charleston SC)
February 23, 2026
History tells us their concern is well-founded. According to the Economic Policy Institute, between 1948 and 1973 — during the dawn of the computing age — a 97% jump in productivity was coupled with an inflation-adjusted 91% increase in average hourly wages. Workers and employers shared in the gains of technological progress.
But between 1973 and 2013, productivity increased by another 74% while, when similarly adjusted for inflation, average hourly compensation increased by just 9%. Workers were getting more productive thanks to technological advancement, yet they were rarely the ones who benefitted.
Irish Examiner
February 23, 2026
Percent change in real wage by wage percentile is annual data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute and only available through 2025.
Bloomberg
February 23, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute’s family budget calculator estimates that a single parent with two children in Memphis needs roughly $81,000 a year to cover a modest standard of living, a figure that makes that median income look awfully thin.
Hoodline
February 23, 2026
Trump issued an executive order in March 2025 that sought to cancel all collective bargaining agreements for most federal employees, citing national security concerns.
Supply Chain Brain
February 23, 2026
For much of the 20th century, teaching was a stable, middle-class job in the U.S. Now it’s becoming a lot harder to survive on a teacher’s salary: Wages have been stagnant for decades,according to a study from the Economic Policy Institute, and teachers earn 5% less than they did a decade ago when adjusting for inflation.
Mississippi Free Press
February 23, 2026