“The fingerprints of Trump policy decisions are most clearly found in the distinct rise in federal [unemployment insurance] claims—claims filed specifically by workers laid off from federal agencies,” Elise Gould and Joe Fast of the Economic Policy Institute wrote last week. “However, we are also seeing troubling trends in UI claims in regular state programs, particularly in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.”
“The shutdown (and potentially the attempted politicization of key government data-collection agencies) could leave policymakers flying blind just as the economy encounters real turbulence,” they cautioned.
Common Dreams
October 28, 2025
According to the Economic Policy Institute, antidiscrimination policies like the CROWN Act are needed because Black and Brown students continue to face discrimination based on their hair.
Florida Politics
October 28, 2025
Real wages are substantially higher now than they were in the seventies, eighties, and nineties. The real median wage in 2024 was 30 percent higher than it had been in 1980.
Source: Economic Policy Institute.
Counterpunch
October 28, 2025
But it’s unclear which federal funding sources and how much money would be on the line if districts don’t comply. Federal funding makes up 15.6% of district revenue in Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Topeka Capital-Journal
October 28, 2025
According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, workers sponsored through the H-1B visa program were paid assigned wage levels that are well below the local median wage. The study also found that the top 30 companies that apply for an H-1B visa are the sponsors of over 25 percent of the visa applications.
Tennessee Star
October 23, 2025
Every few years, CEO pay makes headlines, usually because it’s ballooned again. The Economic Policy Institute reports that CEO compensation at top U.S. firms rose by over 1,200% since 1978. Meanwhile, typical worker pay barely budged.
Work and Money
October 23, 2025
A separate study by the Economic Policy Institute in 2023 put Nevada’s average annual cost of infant child care slightly higher, at $307 per week, but still well below the $1,000 threshold.
The Nevada Independent
October 23, 2025
The H-1B visa program — a key pipeline for skilled foreign workers in tech — has recently been upended by President Donald Trump. A recent executive order now mandates that companies to pay $100,000 per application, a move the White House says will protect American jobs. But critics warn it could shrink the talent pool, raise costs and push innovation overseas. So what’s really changed, who benefits the most and how might this impact the economy? Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at the Economic Policy Institute, joins The Excerpt to unpack the issues.
USA Today The Excerpt Podcast
October 23, 2025
Ben Zipperer, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, has calculated for me that Black and Latino people represent only a little over one-sixth of workers whose wages put them in the top quintile of all wage earners, though they comprise nearly one-third of all workers.
Bloomberg
October 23, 2025