Media clips

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• Black Kos, Tuesday’s Chile. We’ll be running out of wall space soon.

  A new report from the Economic Policy Institute delves into the myriad ways racial and economic inequality have exacerbated the impact of the coronavirus crisis on black communities.

  Millions of black workers have lost their jobs during the pandemic, putting them at a high degree of economic insecurity, in part because they’ve had lower incomes and less savings already.

  Of those who’ve kept their jobs, many more are putting their health at risk — black workers are less likely to have jobs that allow them to work from home — a risk magnified by inequalities in the health care system and a higher prevalence of underlying health conditions.

  Daily Kos June 4, 2020
• Studies Show Heavy Toll of COVID-19 on African Americans

  Data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute show that black workers are more likely to hold front-line jobs, including roles in public transit, child care and health care. And fewer than 1 in 5 black workers are able to work from home, putting them at greater risk for acquiring the virus.

  AARP June 4, 2020
• What’s Behind an Eye-Popping Drop in Education Jobs, and What’s Next?

  So when the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics last month reported that there was a precipitous drop in local education jobs in April, it got plenty of attention from economists, mainstream publications like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and, most recently, the Economic Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank that focuses on the impact that the economy has on low and middle-income workers.

  Education Week June 4, 2020
• THE REAL ‘PREEXISTING CONDITIONS’ THAT EXPLAIN BLACK COVID DEATHS

  Black Americans are more likely to work in low-paid jobs as “essential workers,” often without adequate protection. That is one of the factors contributing to the connection between racism and COVID-19, a state of affairs addressed by a series of stunning economic statistics released this week by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

  Who. What. Why June 4, 2020
• A quick guide to unemployment rates, by race, in major US cities

  “That’s pretty alarming I have to say,” says Elise Gould, a senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. Her recent work on how Covid-19 has affected black workers is based on national data, which she says “misses so much of the differences we see across the United States.”

  Quartz June 4, 2020
• Is a second stimulus check coming? The update on another round of payments for $1,200

  What proponents of the Heroes Act say: Since the middle of March, more than 38 million US workers who have lost their jobs have filed for unemployment. The actual number of those unemployed could be millions higher, according to the Economic Policy Institute, because many people who are eligible were unable to file a jobless claim. With the job losses, the nation’s unemployment rate reached 17.2% (PDF), according to the US Department of Labor. Newly unemployed people, along with others taking an economic hit from the pandemic, would benefit from having more money to spend right now.

  CNET June 4, 2020
• ‘Should Be Bigger News’: Analysis Finds Nearly One Third of Owed Unemployment Benefits Have Not Been Paid

  Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute noted in a blog post last week that more than one in five U.S. workers are currently either receiving unemployment benefits or waiting for approval. Shierholz said “policymakers need to do more” to provide people with financial relief as the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic continues.

  To that end, Shierholz urged Congress to extend the $600 weekly boost in unemployment benefits provided under the CARES Act, which is set to expire on July 31.

  “We also must provide more funding to state [unemployment insurance] agencies to hire staff to speed up processing and to make improvements to websites and other administrative infrastructure,” wrote Shierholz.

  Common Dreams June 4, 2020
• Jobs regained after coronavirus pandemic won’t make up for massive job losses, economists warn

  Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the progressive Economic Policy Institute and a former chief economist at the Labor Department, suggested that more government aid will be necessary to keep consumers and businesses afloat so that many laid-off workers will have jobs to return to.

  “Those jobs are not going to come back if the federal government doesn’t do the things it needs to do to stimulate the economy, so that the demand and confidence is going to be there, so that those businesses will need to call workers back,” Shierholz said.

  Fox News June 4, 2020
• Black Americans Bear The Brunt Of The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Economic Impact

  STACEY VANEK SMITH, BYLINE: Valerie Wilson directs the Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy at the Economic Policy Institute. Valerie points out that black Americans are dying at 2 1/2 times the rate of white Americans. Part of the reason for that, she says, is because of jobs.

  NPR June 4, 2020
• ‘No matter how well you speak, or how educated you are, my blackness will always define me.’ Black graduates on racism in America

  Since black workers are already more likely to be unemployed than white workers, even with the same levels of education, they typically suffer disproportionately during an economic downturn, said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-of-center, labor-focused think tank. We’re already seeing evidence of that trend playing out this time around.

  An EPI analysis of government data from February to April found that the black unemployment rate rose from 5.8% to 16.7% during that period, while the white unemployment rate jumped from 3.1% to 14.2%. Economic downturns are a period where the power of employers typically increases, allowing more room for discrimination in hiring, Gould said.

  For young black workers, this dynamic is exacerbated by their thin job history. “If you’re in an economy where employers can choose who they want, they can choose to discriminate, they can choose to have workers who have more experience,” she said.

  MarketWatch June 4, 2020