“There are 14 million more unemployed workers than job openings, meaning millions will remain jobless no matter what they do,” Heidi Sheirholz, director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute, wrote in a blog post this morning.
Forbes
August 6, 2020
The progressive Economic Policy Institute found that an expanded benefit through July 2021 would increase national gross domestic product by 3.7 percent, support 5,083,197 jobs, and distribute $508.6 billion in income to unemployed workers. In Maine, it would grow the state’s GDP by 6.8 percent, support 18,025 jobs, and pay out nearly $3.05 billion in personal income.
Maine Beacon
August 6, 2020
Research on the effects of expanded unemployment benefits in dire times indicates that the situation is more complicated than getting workers back to their old positions. Cutting that extra income when sales are already weak could reduce demand in the overall economy. An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute found that cutting the $600 would remove support for 66,898 jobs across Colorado over the next year.
The Durango Herald
August 6, 2020
Minnesota currently ranks as the 4th most expensive state for infant care, behind only California, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. According to the Economic Policy Institute, parents in Minnesota pay about $16,087 per year or $1,342 per month to keep an infant in childcare. The annual cost for a four-year-old is $12,252, or $1,021 per month.
Center of the American Experiment
August 6, 2020
If Congress decides to reinstate a federal unemployment benefit bonus — in any amount — it will likely take two to four weeks for payments to flow to states and then recipients, according to the Economic Policy Institute. So far, the proposal has been introduced only in the Senate. Democratic congressional leaders are currently negotiating with the GOP on the particulars of the plan.
CNET
August 6, 2020
“I think they’re making the calculation that they’d rather work and try to secure a place with an employer rather than rely on temporary unemployment insurance increases,” said Josh Bivens, director of research at the liberal Economic Policy Institute.
Huffington Post
August 6, 2020
You might be asking, “but where am I going to find the resources to give my workers more?” Here, CEOs would do well to look in the mirror. According to the Economic Policy Institute, CEO compensation has grown 940% since 1978, while the salary of the average worker has increased only 12%. The economy would suffer zero harm if CEOs were paid less.
Time
August 6, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute reported that the average teacher spent more than $450 of their own money on supplies last year.
KWQC
August 6, 2020
As Washington considers its next stimulus, it would do well to prioritize infrastructure investment—providing an infusion of jobs, expanded American manufacturing, more efficient transportation, and better safety. In addition, spending on infrastructure has a significant multiplier effect. A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco estimates that every dollar of infrastructure spending produces $2 for the economy, and an Economic Policy Institute study found that each $100 billion in infrastructure spending will create about 1 million full-time jobs. Imagine what that would do for our flagging employment.
Fortune
August 6, 2020
The big picture: Some small-business owners around the country have said they believe the extra $600 a week was making it more difficult for them to hire workers. But when the Yale economists zoomed out, they found that the benefit had no effect on the labor market.
In fact, there are around 14 million more unemployed people than there are jobs, per the Economic Policy Institute. “If we’re in a scenario where the jobs aren’t there, searching isn’t going to help,” Scott says.
Axios
August 6, 2020