While Congress continues negotiations of what another stimulus package may look like, the labor market has shown modest gains after a precipitous drop at the outset of the pandemic, which resulted in a loss of 26.45 million jobs from March to April. Many businesses called people back to work as state economies reopened in May. However, the Congressional Budget Office projects continued high unemployment and estimates the unemployment rate will reach 11.5% by the end of the year, and the Economic Policy Institute estimates 17.6 million unemployed Americans are unlikely to return to their pre-pandemic jobs.
CNBC
July 9, 2020
“There is no area in the country with zero risks and many areas where there’s escalating risks,” said Lawrence Mishel, a distinguished fellow at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
According to a recent study commissioned by EPI, just 30% of people working outside of their homes were receiving some form of hazard pay, while 50% were concerned about bringing the virus back from those jobs. An estimated 40.6% of Black workers reported receiving hazard pay, followed by 33.5% of Hispanic workers and 26.8% of White workers.
July 9, 2020
According to Valerie Wilson from the Economic Policy Institute, in 2018, a median Black worker only earned about 75% of what a White person does ($14.92 per hour to $19.79), and the Economist reported that in 2019 mean household wealth was $138,000 for Blacks, and $933,700 for Whites. While more than 72% of Whites own homes usually in nice neighborhoods, only 42% of Blacks do usually in shabbier environments. Unemployment rates are typically twice that of Whites.
Counter Punch
July 9, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute estimated in May that since the coronavirus pandemic began in the U.S., 16.2 million Americans have lost the health coverage they had access to through their employers, as the unemployment crisis caused by the public health emergency has left more than 32 million without work. EPI and others have recommended since the pandemic began that Medicare and Medicaid be expanded to cope with the economic effects.
Common Dreams
July 9, 2020
Meanwhile, here in early July, the coronavirus pandemic is still setting national caseload records, and weekly unemployment claim totals have over the last 15 consecutive weeks run more than twice as high, the Economic Policy Institute reports, as the worst jobless claim week of the Great Recession.
Counter Punch
July 9, 2020
Best personal finance tip in this recession? Say “Good bye, Amazon” and “Hello, Vanguard.”
Bloomberg
July 9, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute has estimated 5.3 million lost jobs by the end of 2021 if the federal government does nothing. The jobs gap would be 2.6 million if $500 billion of federal aid passed—that $1 trillion in the House HEROES bill is necessary to avert significant job losses.
Daily Kos
July 9, 2020
Absent federal action, these job losses could get much worse. A recent analysis conducted by the Economic Policy Institute estimates that without it, North Carolina will lose a combined total of 156,500 public and private jobs by the end of 2021.
The Progressive Pulse
July 9, 2020
“We absolutely need to provide another round of relief and recovery measures for families,” Josh Bivens, director of research at the nonpartisan think tank Economic Policy Institute, told CNET. “We’re going to have steeply elevated rates of joblessness for a long time and there will be a lot of suffering unless we do more measures.”
CNET
July 9, 2020
Low-paid staff and graduate students stand to suffer significant harm to their health and household finances if UGA does not require face masks while indoors and will not allow instructors and staff to work from home if they are able and wish to do so. Nearly 3,000 graduate student workers at UGA make less than $25,000 per year. Additionally, an estimated 2,500 full-time employees (about 22% of UGA employees) earn salaries under $35,000, which the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator considers a living wage for a single adult with no children in Clarke County. With no extra money to spare, these workers are more likely to have health insurance plans with poorer coverage and higher deductibles. They simply cannot afford to get sick. By requiring staff and graduate students to work on campus with poor public health regulations, UGA is putting the health and limited resources of their most financially insecure employees and students at significant and unnecessary risk.
Flagpole
July 9, 2020