That’s according to the Economic Policy Institute, an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people. The actual rate of May’s unemployment was a staggering 19.7%. What the official 21 million worker employment rate fails to include are the 4.9 million furloughed workers (misclassified as “employed, not at work”) and the 6.6 million who have dropped out of the labor force as a result of the virus. Add it all up and it means 32.5 million people are jobless—nearly one in five workers.
Globe St.
July 10, 2020
Meanwhile, research from the Economic Policy Institute suggests that 17.6 million jobs will be lost to the pandemic permanently.
CNBC
July 10, 2020
Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that as of mid-June, the U.S. the economy had 14.7 million fewer jobs than it did in February of this year, according to a blog post from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). And for the 16th week in a row, unemployment claims are still more than two times higher than they were for the worst week of the Great Recession.
Next City
July 10, 2020
Many workers going on strike are essential, meaning they have risked contracting the novel coronavirus by continuing to physically go to work. Essential workers are disproportionately Black and Latino, per the Economic Policy Institute — the two communities that have seen the highest rate of COVID-19 cases.
Business Insider
July 10, 2020
It’s more likely that recent layoffs won’t be temporary, like many of those in the early weeks had been, as businesses that had stayed open and kept their workforce intact are struggling with a drop in demand for their goods and services, Shierholz said.
“We’re still seeing an enormous amount of job losses,” said Shierholz, director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. “And they’re of particular concern because they’re more likely to be permanent.
“Getting laid off in the middle of a very deep recession spells a high likelihood of seeing a big drop in your living standards that is lasting,” she added.
CNBC
July 10, 2020
“Unfortunately, there are more recent indicators that layoffs are going to pick up again as people being laid off for the second time and hires will likely slow as well,” Elise Gould, senior economist for the Economic Policy Institute, wrote Tuesday.
Courthouse News Service
July 10, 2020
In New York, the impact has been crucial. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that the $600 weekly payment has boosted income in the state by $41 million. (Technically there are two benefits — a $600 weekly additional payment for those who qualify for traditional unemployment insurance and a new $600 benefit for those gig economy workers and independent contractors).
The City
July 10, 2020
Josh Bivens, the director of the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute, said expanded unemployment benefits was a key piece of the CARES Act that’s crucial for families where someone has lost a job. The expanded unemployment benefits are set to expire at the end of July.
According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, Bivens told CNET, if Congress doesn’t renew the extra $600 at the end of July the country will have 5 million fewer jobs a year from now than if Congress kept the enhanced benefits running. “It’s a huge obstacle to recovery if we let it lapse,” Bivens said.
CNET
July 10, 2020
Despite Brown v. Board of Education making racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional in 1954, schools in the U.S. are more segregated than ever. According to the Economic Policy Institute, Black students are five times as likely as white students to attend a racially segregated school, and twice as likely to attend high-poverty schools. In 2016, school districts that predominantly serve students of color received $23 billion less in funding than mostly white school districts in the U.S., even while serving the same number of students. This lasting racial and economic segregation, due to a long history of housing and loan discrimination against Black communities, has been heavily linked to the racial achievement gap.
The Daily Pennsylvanian
July 10, 2020