Key findings in a 2019 study from the Economic Policy Institute found that fewer than 20% or one-fifth of young adults ages 21-24 have a bachelor’s degree. Even more so, approximately 53% of those that do graduate programs are unemployed or working in a job that doesn’t require a bachelor’s degree according to the University of Washington. Realistically, most young graduates are not getting hired for the job of their dreams right out of college.
The West Georgian
February 5, 2020
In 2015, college graduates, on average, earned 56% more than those with high school diplomas alone, according to the Economic Policy Institute. That’s a sizable gap. And while federal student loans do allow borrowers to apply for income-driven repayment plans, where their monthly loan payments are recalculated as a small percentage of their income, even that could prove burdensome for low wage-earners. Plus, not all student loans are federal in nature. Private loans don’t offer official income-driven repayment plans, so those in that camp may be more likely to default on their debt.
The Motley Fool
February 5, 2020
A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that a typical full-time worker in states with “right-to-work” laws earns wages that are 3.1% lower than comparable workers in states without these laws—and this drop in average wages is greater for workers of color. The study also found that states with “right-to-work” laws have a 5-percentage point difference than non-“right-to-work” ones.
The Economic Policy Institute endorses the Nationwide Right to Unionize Act.
“Research shows that so-called right-to-work laws lower workers’ wages–which is no surprise, given that unions raise wages and the intended effect of right-to-work laws is to hamstring unions. Working people are now losing around $200 billion per year as a result of the erosion of union coverage in recent decades. Banning right-to-work is a crucial step in halting and reversing those trends and creating an economy that works for all, not just for the people who already have the most.” — Heidi Shierholz, Senior Economist and Director of Policy at the Economic Policy Institute
Elizabeth Warren
February 5, 2020
In 2016, Iowa’s capital, Des Moines, was named the 11th-best place to live in the United States, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington.
At the same time, it was ranked as the third-worst city for African-Americans.
ABC News
February 5, 2020
Nationwide, according to census data released fall 2019, income inequality has ballooned under Trump, reaching its worst point since the Census Bureau started measuring five decades ago. Even with low unemployment numbers, the Economic Policy Institute reports that wage growth has been sluggish.
In These Times
February 5, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute reports that more than 28 million Americans would be directly impacted by a minimum wage increase to $15 per hour. Many millions more would indirectly benefit from a “spillover effect,” with employers raising the wages of workers making more than $15 per hour in order to attract and retain employees, EPI research has found.
Columbus Underground
February 5, 2020
Though wages have been slow-growing since the Great Recession, they have picked up in recent years — especially for those at the bottom. This is partly due to a minimum wage movement playing out in recent years, according to a Washington Post analysis of Labor Department data. More than 20 states raised their minimum wages at the start of 2020, affecting nearly 7 million workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.
The Washington Post
February 5, 2020
As many as 56 percent of Maine employers may be using forced arbitration, according to an estimate in December by the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive economic think tank.
Maine Beacon
February 5, 2020
“No matter what their job, where they live, or how much education or experience they have, Latinas are still paid less than White men,” the Economic Policy Institute explained in 2017, referring to the “double pay gap” to which Latina women are subjected, which adds the ethnic pay gap to the gender pay gap.
BE Latina
February 5, 2020
The researchers at the Economic Policy Institute do recognize the importance of the U.S. unemployment rate standing at its lowest level in decades. Thus, at the very end of the article the problem is more sharply defined as the loss of “quality,” high-paying jobs.
Los Angeles Times
February 5, 2020