Media clips

---

• People receiving unemployment benefits are actually more likely to look for jobs, new study finds

  More than one in five workers are currently on unemployment benefits or are waiting to get on, according to the Economic Policy Institute, as the U.S. economy continues to be ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, those who are unemployed qualify for their standard state benefit and an additional $600 per week from the federal government. But without action from Congress, that extra weekly benefit expires July 31, even as over 19 million people in the U.S. remain unemployed.

  CNBC June 26, 2020
• Visa Programs Suspended by Trump Administration

  President Trump Monday suspended a number of immigration visa programs affecting tech workers and students, among others. The White House says the move will help get Americans back to work, as the economy continues to reel from 40 million virus-related job losses.  But critics say freezing the visas is an election-year political move that will hurt US businesses, particularly in Silicon Valley.  We’ll get the details.

  Guests:

  Rachael Myrow, senior editor, KQED’s Silicon Valley News Desk

  Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research, Economic Policy Institute

  Kalpana Peddibhotla, attorney, Matthews & Peddibhotla PC

  KQED News June 25, 2020
• Nearly 1.1 million Americans on unemployment face risky jobless period

  “Far more people would be left completely with nothing if Congress hadn’t implemented PEUC,” said Heidi Shierholz, director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute. “The fact that 1 million people are already on it underscores just how important it was that Congress started that program.”

  CNBC June 25, 2020
• The shape of our recovery

  The bottom line: “We don’t have a word for being in a depressed economy that’s growing,” says Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

  Axios June 25, 2020
• Top Obama official says it’s up to Congress to address racial disparities in public education exposed by COVID pandemic

  Valerie Rawlston Wilson, director of the Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy at the Economic Policy Institute, said schools need standards in place for teachers, staff and student safety.

  At the federal level, the Trump administration has issued guidance for workers and employers in schools and other sectors, outlining standard precautions. But the guidance is largely voluntary, and so far the Trump administration has resisted calls for new regulations.

  “I don’t know that parents will feel very confident in sending their students back to school if they don’t have consistent enforceable standards,” Wilson said.

  Pennsylvania Capital-Star June 25, 2020
• Think that extra $600 in unemployment benefits will last until the end of July? Think again.

  “We’ve all being saying it’s July 31st, but it’s not,” says Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy for the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

  USA Today June 25, 2020
• A lack of child care is keeping women on unemployment rolls

  “It’ll be crucial that that investment is made so that these are actually decent jobs for the people who are holding them,” said Shierholz, now policy director at the Economic Policy Institute.

  Politico June 25, 2020
• A un mes para que culmine aumento de $600 semanales por desempleo, expertos anticipan lo peor

  Para Heidi Shierholz, del Economic Policy Institute, el aumento de seguro por desempleo fue la mejor parte del plan de recuperación por coronavirus aprobado bajo CARES Act tanto “humanitariamente como en fundamentos económicos”.

  El Diario June 25, 2020
• The case for higher wages during coronavirus recession: EPI

  Raising the minimum wage during the coronavirus pandemic is smart policy, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Yahoo Finance’s Sibile Marcellus joins Akiko Fujita to discuss.

  Yahoo Finance June 25, 2020
• Arizona jobless rate drops sharply, but still at twice pre-COVID levels

  But while the outlook is optimistic, the gains are not being enjoyed evenly, said Elise Gould, senior economist for the Economic Policy Institute, who said white workers are benefiting disproportionately.

  “An increase in jobs is a positive sign but a concern that isn’t broadly shared is the Black unemployment rate showed no improvement nationally, it actually increased,” Gould said.

  Cronkite News June 25, 2020