Media clips
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5. Economic Policy Institute: The unemployment rate “will likely not reflect all coronavirus-related layoffs”
“All else equal, job losses of this magnitude would translate into an unemployment rate of 18.3%,” Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, wrote in a note Thursday.
“However, the official unemployment rate, when it is released, will likely not reflect all coronavirus-related layoffs,” she said, adding this is because jobless workers are counted only as unemployed if they are actively seeking work.
She continued: “The UI claims of the last five weeks, while extraordinary, don’t even include most people who aren’t eligible for regular UI but are nevertheless out of work due to the virus—people like gig workers or independent contractors, and many others.”
Business Insider April 24, 2020 -
Even after restrictions begin to lift, the economic crisis will probably be unlike anything the U.S. has seen in several decades. On April 14th, the International Monetary Fund published a report predicting that the current period will be the beginning of the “worst recession since the Great Depression, and far worse than the Global Financial Crisis.” Heidi Shierholz, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said that, while the U.S. government had taken some steps toward alleviating the damage, it hasn’t done nearly enough. She compared the response of American leaders to that of leaders in Denmark, who swiftly implemented a program to replace workers’ lost wages so that they could remain connected to their employers and could be summoned back again easily once it was deemed safe; the U.S. version, an emergency loan fund called the Paycheck Protection Program, has, so far, been riddled with implementation problems and has left many businesses that are in serious need without access to funds. “They’re getting what they need to survive the lockdown,” Shierholz said, referring to workers in Denmark. “So workers aren’t facing the trauma of job loss, which research shows can be very long-lasting, and can have effects on kids.” She went on, “We didn’t do what Denmark did. We chose not to. So we are going to be in a worse position, and we are not going to have as quick of a recovery.”
The New Yorker April 24, 2020 -
In 1994, public school teachers earned about 1.8% less per week than workers in other professions that required a college degree.
Source: TIME, The Economic Policy Institute
Business Insider April 24, 2020 -
“What we’re seeing across the country is an immense amount of frustration,” said Julia Wolfe, a state economic analyst at the DC-based Economic Policy Institute, whose research shows the unemployment backlog is not only putting individuals’ in financial jeopardy but could slow the economic recovery.
“If throughout this entire time people are losing their income, they’re not going to be able to spend, and then we’re going to see a decrease in demand [for goods]. And so not only is it bad for individuals, but really for the entire economy,” warned Wolfe.
Boston 25 News April 24, 2020 -
Women make up a majority of workers in some industries that have been hit hardest, such as health care, where many jobs outside hospitals have been lost, and hotels and restaurants. Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the progressive Economic Policy Institute, calculates that 56% of the layoffs have involved women.
Associated Press April 24, 2020 -
5. Economic Policy Institute: The unemployment rate “will likely not reflect all coronavirus-related layoffs”
“All else equal, job losses of this magnitude would translate into an unemployment rate of 18.3%,” Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, wrote in a note Thursday.
“However, the official unemployment rate, when it is released, will likely not reflect all coronavirus-related layoffs,” she said, adding this is because jobless workers are counted only as unemployed if they are actively seeking work.
She continued: “The UI claims of the last five weeks, while extraordinary, don’t even include most people who aren’t eligible for regular UI but are nevertheless out of work due to the virus—people like gig workers or independent contractors, and many others.”
Business Insider April 24, 2020 -
Even after restrictions begin to lift, the economic crisis will probably be unlike anything the U.S. has seen in several decades. On April 14th, the International Monetary Fund published a report predicting that the current period will be the beginning of the “worst recession since the Great Depression, and far worse than the Global Financial Crisis.” Heidi Shierholz, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said that, while the U.S. government had taken some steps toward alleviating the damage, it hasn’t done nearly enough. She compared the response of American leaders to that of leaders in Denmark, who swiftly implemented a program to replace workers’ lost wages so that they could remain connected to their employers and could be summoned back again easily once it was deemed safe; the U.S. version, an emergency loan fund called the Paycheck Protection Program, has, so far, been riddled with implementation problems and has left many businesses that are in serious need without access to funds. “They’re getting what they need to survive the lockdown,” Shierholz said, referring to workers in Denmark. “So workers aren’t facing the trauma of job loss, which research shows can be very long-lasting, and can have effects on kids.” She went on, “We didn’t do what Denmark did. We chose not to. So we are going to be in a worse position, and we are not going to have as quick of a recovery.”
The New Yorker April 24, 2020 -
In 1994, public school teachers earned about 1.8% less per week than workers in other professions that required a college degree.
Source: TIME, The Economic Policy Institute
Business Insider April 24, 2020 -
“All else equal, job losses of this magnitude would translate into an unemployment rate of 18.3 [percent],” said Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
Politico April 23, 2020 -
While some economists say the worst may be over in terms of the sheer weekly number of layoffs, the impact will be lasting. Job losses of this magnitude translate to an unemployment rate of 18.3%, though the official unemployment rate won’t reflect that because people are only counted as unemployed if they are actively seeking work, which is currently difficult in many industries, said Heidi Shierholz, director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute and former chief economist at the Labor Department.
Barron’s April 23, 2020