Media clips

• Trump proves Black workers matter

  Even prior to the pandemic, minority communities struggled with higher rates of unemployment. Last year, the Black jobless rate was twice as high as the White unemployment rate in 14 states, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

  Washington Times July 7, 2020
• Without child care, back-to-work parents have few legal options

  Moreover, workers who leave to care for children have no guarantee that they’ll get their job back, given the deep economic damage caused by the pandemic, said Elise Gould, an economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

  Bloomberg Law July 7, 2020
• How and why are Black and non-Black Latinx communities being affected at a higher rate by the novel coronavirus pandemic?

  In a 2018 study the Economic Policy Institute found that about 16 percent of non-Black Latinx workers and 20 percent of Black workers could complete their jobs or part of their jobs from home, while non-Latinx White workers’ average for telework was 30 percent.

  TCU 360 July 7, 2020
• The ugly truth about millions of American jobs: They are not coming back
  More than 10 million Americans are currently categorized as temporarily out of work. But historically, nearly 30% of people who tell the Labor Department that they are temporarily unemployed never get their job back, said Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank. “Even though we don’t know if the historical record will hold in this case, it’s an extremely valid concern that not all of those people are going to get called back,” she said.
  CNN Business July 7, 2020
• $600 unemployment benefit ends in July. Economists not optimistic about what happens after

  Evermore points to a recent study from the nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank Economic Policy Institute, which said if the $600 benefit was extended for a year, until July 2021, Michigan’s gross domestic product would be boosted by 6.6% and it would support the employment of nearly 200,000 workers.

  Detroit Free Press July 7, 2020
• Ending the extra $600 federal benefit will harm ‘vast majority’ of unemployed workers, especially women and people of color

  Critics of the extra payment say it encourages people not to return to work, and take issue with the fact that some people earn more with the bonus than they did at their old jobs. But some economists say that is precisely the point: The extra $600 in benefits — deemed the “best” part of the economic response by Josh Bivens and Heidi Shierholz, economists at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute — keeps people home while allowing them to pay their bills and even save some money.

  CNBC July 7, 2020
• Jhacova Williams on the economic cost of racist symbols

  Jhacova Williams, Economist at The Economic Policy Institute, joined Yahoo Finance’s Sibile Marcellus, Kristin Myers, and Jen Rogers to discuss the economist cost of racist symbols and the role structural racism has had in shaping soceity.

  Yahoo Finance July 7, 2020
• Unemployed Americans turn to food banks in record numbers

  Features interview with Heidi Shierholz.

  CNN July 6, 2020
• The Democrats’ dumb idea to cut pandemic unemployment benefits

  Have I mentioned that generous unemployment benefits are one of the few things keeping this economy afloat at the moment? Josh Bivens, an economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, estimates that extending the $600 sweetener through July 2021 would boost gross domestic product by 3.7 percent.

  The New Republic July 6, 2020
• How buying from Black-owned businesses actually helps the community

  The racial wealth gap is no myth. According to the Economic Policy Institute, average wealth for white families in the U.S. is seven times higher than average wealth for Black families. Black businesses often struggle more due to this wealth gap and lack of homeownership, so how does it help to buy Black?

  VOX Magazine July 6, 2020