According to research conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, Pennsylvania is one of the states with the most to gain from additional pandemic unemployment assistance. The study found that the programs could actually “create or save 5.1 million jobs” in 2021 by helping “workers and their families keep their heads above water while breathing necessary life into the economic recovery.” Using their model, Pennsylvania’s job share would increase by 5.7% — which equates to 265,000 jobs gained. With the CARES Act set to expire, Pennsylvanians using those programs to make ends meet — will have to look elsewhere.
WHYY
January 4, 2021
Meanwhile, the turnabout in views about a $15 wage base has been head-spinning. Even states with relatively low minimums, like Florida and Virginia, are poised for significant increases in 2021 and headed toward $15, or at least the strong possibility of it, by 2026.
By then, 42% of the U.S. workforce will be covered by $15 minimum wage laws, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
USA Today
January 4, 2021
A study by the Economic Policy Institute concludes that “although Americans are working more productively than ever, the fruits of their labors have primarily accrued to those at the top and corporate profits, especially in recent years. From 1979 to 2018, net productivity rose 69.6 percent, while the hourly pay of typical workers essentially stagnated—increasing only 11.6 percent over 39 years (after adjusting for inflation).”
Forbes
January 4, 2021
Two researchers with the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank in Washington D.C., come down on the side of the benefits of wage increases. They wrote that three academic studies published in 2020 did historical analyses of wage increases and concluded that they raised consumer spending in local markets. “Raising the minimum wage directly pushes back against the consumer demand shortfall by providing low-wage workers with money to boost the broader economy,” the Sept. 14 post stated.
Roswell Daily Record
January 4, 2021
A 2014 Economic Policy Institute analysis found that fewer people in the lower- and middle-classes were actually climbing the economic ladder today. In turn, they made less than their parents. As Intelligence Squared reported, “In the last 30 years, the wages of the top 1% have grown by 154%, while the bottom 90% has seen growth of only 17%.” What led to this phenomenon? Unequal income distribution, where those at the top receive much more than those on the bottom.
Entrepreneur
January 4, 2021
According to the Economic Policy Institute, 25.7 million workers in the US remain officially unemployed, otherwise out of work due to the pandemic, or have experienced a reduction in work hours or pay.
The Guardian
January 4, 2021
New Jersey is particularly pricey for child care. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average annual cost of infant care in the state is $12,988.
NJ.com
January 4, 2021
39. Black women, on average, earn 64 cents for every dollar a white man earns, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute.
New York Times
January 4, 2021
Heidi Shierholz, a scholar at the Economic Policy Institute and former chief economist at the Labor Department under President Obama, told The Hill, “Reasonable time’ is not defined, and its ambiguity will make it difficult to enforce, providing employers an immense loophole and leaving workers behind.” She predicted the change could cost tipped workers a collective $700 million a year, and shift more jobs from non-tipped to tipped.
FSR Magazine
January 4, 2021
The disparities run even deeper: Research shows that Black workers’ benefits are less likely to include paid sick days and the ability to work from home, and according to data from the Economic Policy Institute, access to paid sick days is “vastly unequal.” And that’s just about sick days.
NBC News
January 4, 2021