As of October, nearly 26 million Americans were either out of the workforce or not working as many hours as they would like, according to Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and formerly the chief economist at the Department of Labor in the Obama administration. Although unemployment has fallen from 14.7% in April to 6.9%, roughly 15% of the country’s workforce remains either jobless or underemployed.
CBS News
November 12, 2020
Of course, not everyone left vulnerable by ending of the ACA would go without insurance. Some would use the money they’re currently spending on other necessities to buy health care. The Economic Policy Institute says that would result in major job losses as spending is directed away from local businesses and toward health insurance. A study from the group put the number of job losses in Kentucky after a potential ACA repeal at 55,949.
Spectrum News
November 12, 2020
United States unemployment for workers aged 16 to 24 tripled from 2019 to 2020, hitting 24.4 percent this spring, according to an October report by the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive-leaning think-tank based in Washington, DC.
Al Jazeera
November 12, 2020
Elise Gould, a senior economist at Economic Policy Institute in Washington. “That means, no matter what they did, there were no jobs for 5.4 million unemployed workers. And this misses the fact that many more weren’t counted among the unemployed.”
Reuters
November 12, 2020
“It seems like it’s everything,” said Heidi Shierholz, a former Labor Department economist under President Barack Obama who is the policy director at the liberal Economic Policy Institute in Washington. “If it’s 50-50 in the Senate after the Georgia races, then the Democrats will be able to push something substantial through that will be a really key thing for boosting the economy. If not, it just doesn’t seem possible.”
The New York Times
November 12, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimates around 30 million workers in the U.S. have lost hours, jobs, or seen their wages cut because of the pandemic.
Mundo Obrero Workers World
November 12, 2020
Data from Oxfam America and the Economic Policy Institute suggests that strongly advocating for a living wage, which researchers have pointed out would substantially reduce racial inequality, could propel a high turnout among working class populations that are electorally significant but often underrepresented at the polls.
Common Dreams
November 12, 2020
The help provided by the government’s initial $2.2 trillion stimulus package is long gone, and the Republican-controlled Senate has consistently failed to produce another relief effort. Meanwhile, at least 6.2 million people lost their employer-sponsored health insurance via the pandemic, according to the Economic Policy Institute, and millions more did not have company health plans to begin with.
Capital and Main
November 12, 2020
Historically speaking, young workers have always faced major disadvantages when launching their careers during weaker economies, but according to the Economic Policy Institute, “they have been even more negatively affected by the current recession.”
The New Yorker
November 12, 2020
• Lily Garcia, former head of the National Education Association whose mother is from Panama. She serves on the president’s advisory commission on educational excellence for Hispanics and is a board member of the Economic Policy Institute.
USA Today
November 12, 2020