“There are definitely some things about this [act] that make lives better, and there are some holes that need to be fixed,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
Marguerite Casey Foundation
April 8, 2020
The pandemic has shed a light on the deep inequality that defines this city. According to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, only one in five African American workers and roughly one in six Hispanic workers are able to work from home. Many of them work as grocery, home delivery, and restaurant delivery workers and are considered essential during the period of the shutdown reminding one of the privilege linked to social distancing.
April 8, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning Washington think tank, estimated a couple of days ago that the unemployment rate in Nevada could reach 19.7 percent by July. As recently as February, the jobless rate statewide stood at 3.6 percent. In the Reno area, it was even lower — 3.2 percent.
The state will be particularly hard-hit in coming months because travelers need to stay home during the coronavirus outbreak, the Economic Policy Institute noted. Casino, hotel and restaurant employees, who account for more than 40 percent of Nevada’s workers, don’t have the option of teleworking.
This is Reno
April 8, 2020
Recent research by the Economic Policy Institute found less than 30% of Americans can work from home, but the numbers vary widely by race and ethnicity. Less than one-fifth of black workers and one-sixth of Latinos can telecommute, compared to 37% of Asians and 30% of white workers.
April 8, 2020
Also real is the economic emergency that workers, families and small businesses face. At some point, Washingtonians will get to the other side of the COVID-19 crisis and begin a long economic recovery. Already, economists are attempting to forecast the national economic picture for the months to come. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects a 12 percent unemployment rate by the end of June, dropping only to 9 percent by the end of 2021. The Economic Policy Institute projects an unemployment rate around 15 percent by the end of June for the country and Washington state. January’s unemployment rate of 3.6 percent seems like a dream.
Lynwood Today
April 8, 2020
Economic Policy Institute President Thea Lee will provide a timely analysis on the economic impact of state and local budgets amid the public health crisis and outline steps to shore up state and local finances.
South Florida Caribbean News
April 8, 2020
Heidi Shierholz, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and former chief economist at the Department of Labor said the CARES Act was too prohibitive in how states can make use of the federal aid:
“One of the problems with the aid to state governments in the last recovery package is that it could only be used for costs directly related to fighting the virus or to dealing with the spike in joblessness related to the virus.”
KRCR 7 News
April 8, 2020