In the four weeks leading up to April 11, the number of unemployment claims passed 22 million. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), that means that roughly 9.2 million workers likely lost their employer-sponsored health insurance during that time.
“As people continue to lose their jobs, which we expect that they will do unfortunately, we’re going to see losses in health insurance coverage,” Ben Zipperer, an economist at EPI, told Yahoo Finance. “That’s because in the United States, we’ve chosen as a country, unfortunately, to tie access to health insurance with employment.”
He continued: “If we avoided that, if we made sure everybody was covered, everybody has access to health insurance regardless of their employment status, we wouldn’t be in this kind of predicament.”
Yahoo Finance
April 21, 2020
Though not exhaustive, some other names on the Sanders campaign’s early list include Heather Boushey, an inequality expert with the Washington Center for Equitable Growth; Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, two leading economists in the world of wealth inequality and progressive taxation; Jeffrey Sachs, who runs Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Development; Josh Bivens, an economist with progressive think tank Economic Policy Institute; Daniel Kammen, who runs the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Lab at University of California, Berkeley; Tara Raghuveer, an affordable housing activist who runs the Kansas City Tenants group; and Bonnie Castillo, the executive director with the National Nurses Union.
The Huffington Post
April 21, 2020
“Employers spend millions of dollars a year to hire union avoidance advisers to see how susceptible they are to their workers organizing,” Celine McNicholas, the director of government affairs and labor counsel for the Economic Policy Institute, said.
Overall, US companies spent at least $100 million on consulting services for anti-union campaigns between 2014 and 2017, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute based on disclosure forms filed with the US Department of Labor.
Business Insider
April 21, 2020
Fast forward two years: A global pandemic has plunged the world into crisis and the American markets into chaos. As of April 17, the number of COVID-19 cases ballooned to more than 2 million worldwide with 139,378 reported deaths, and growing. The United States accounts for 690,714 of these cases, though this estimate is conservative. Comparisons to the Spanish flu and the Great Depression fail to capture the moment. Social distancing for up to 18 months, by some estimates. Shortages of tests and ventilators. Empty store shelves. Toilet paper a rare commodity. The economy grinding to a halt as countries close their borders and businesses shut their doors. “Even with moderate fiscal stimulus, we’re likely to see 3 million jobs lost by summertime,” wrote Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, in a post published on March 17. One month later, the Washington Post reported more than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment aid. Absent a dramatic shift, the coronavirus pandemic will be remembered as one of the darkest chapters in American history.
In These Times
April 20, 2020
Demand for farm labor has risen significantly in recent years, with the shortage compounded by fewer younger people wanting to work in agriculture, among other factors. In fiscal year 2005, the United States certified 48,336 jobs that could accept H-2A workers, according to federal data. By 2018, data showed that figure had quintupled to 242,762 jobs, which ran an average of about 5 1/2 months. Of that, the U.S. issued 196,409 H-2A visas. Historically, the bulk of H-2A certified jobs have been in Florida, North Carolina, New York, Georgia, Washington, and California. The coronavirus pandemic could cut the number of H-2A workers by up to 60,000, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonprofit think tank in Washington. Put in context, the U.S. Department of State granted more than 204,801 H-2A visas in fiscal year 2019, with each job lasting an average of six months. The workforce fulfilled around 79% of the labor demand that year, according to federal data.
Pro Farmer
April 20, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic could cut the number of H-2A workers by up to 60,000, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank in Washington. Put in context, the U.S. Department of State granted more than 204,801 H-2A visas in fiscal year 2019, with each job lasting an average of six months. The workforce fulfilled around 79% of the labor demand that year, according to federal data.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
April 20, 2020
An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute found that 9.2 million Americans likely lost their health insurance coverage in the past month as unemployment surged nationwide. As most Americans access their health care through employers, losing a job often means losing insurance coverage as well. In the past four weeks, some 22 million workers have applied for unemployment, with analysts projecting that the unemployment rate now stands at about 15 percent.
Newsweek
April 20, 2020
Companies around the state are still making decisions about whether to lay employees off, Turner said. One recent report by the Economic Policy Institute estimated the state could lose about 110,000 jobs due to the virus over the next several months.
Mississippi Clarion Ledger
April 20, 2020
In 2017, the US households in the top 1% of income-earners made more than 25 times what families in the other 99% did, according to a paper from the Economic Policy Institute. This glaring inequality confirmed my determination to devote the rest of my life and greatest part of my wealth to philanthropy.
Business Insider
April 20, 2020
The U.S. is home to about 2.2 million domestic workers, including home-care aides, child-care workers and house cleaners, according to an analysis of government data by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. Disproportionate shares of these workers are black and Hispanic, and they are more likely than workers in other occupations to be foreign-born. Nearly 92% are women.
MarketWatch
April 20, 2020