Media clips
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The Economic Policy Institute has released a report analyzing the Uber drivers’ compensation and the size of the gig economy in the United States. The study finds that the average Uber driver earns $11.77 per hour, substantially less than both the $32.06 average hourly compensation of private sector employees and the $14.99 average hourly wage of service occupation workers. After subtracting mandatory Uber fees, vehicle expenses, and self-employment taxes, average driver earnings drop to $10.87 per hour. The report also argues that the “size” of the gig economy measured in terms of total hours worked and aggregate compensation is relatively small as a share of the overall economy.
On Labor May 16, 2018 -
Since Uber overhauled the transportation market, and simultaneously heralded the dawn of the gig economy, there’s been much speculation as to what gig workers in this new era actually make. A recent report by the Economic Policy Institute has pegged the hourly wage of an Uber driver at around US$11.77 (adjusted to about $10.87 when factoring in what contractors contribute to Medicare and social security) or about minimum wage. “It’s more low wage than I thought, to tell you the truth,” Lawrence Mishel, a labour economist and former EPI president who authored the report told Quartz. “My sense is that taxi driving used to be an occupation that provided a very modest middle-class income, and that just doesn’t seem to be the case any more.” (whole story)
Global News May 16, 2018 -
Uber has had a longstanding policy of mandatory arbitration for employees and customers involved in harassment and assault allegations. Such policies are common in corporate America, with more than 60m people subject to mandatory arbitration under their employment contracts, according to a study from the Economic Policy Institute, a think-tank.
Financial Times May 16, 2018 -
Many hundreds of thousands of young Americans are on the cusp of graduating from college. What sort of job prospects await them? Sadly, it’s not great, as the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) explains in a new paper. For Americans age 21 to 24 who have a bachelor’s degree, and who aren’t enrolled in further schooling, the unemployment rate is back down to where it was before the 2008 collapse — around 5.3 percent. On its face, that sounds pretty good! (It’s represented by the light blue line in the graph below.) But as EPI points out, there are lots of reasons to view the post-2001 business cycle as a pretty shoddy baseline. The damage from that downturn had not yet been undone when the Great Recession hit. (whole story)
The Week May 16, 2018 -
A CBS News article paints a bleak picture quoting Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. It reports that more than 1-in-10 college graduates are “underemployed,” working in jobs that don’t use their skills. “There’s an increase in the number of young college grads who are taking jobs that don’t require a college degree, so it’s taking them longer to get them really started on their career track,” Gould said. Underemployment “has improved, but it’s still higher than before the recession.”
The Hill May 16, 2018 -
A report out last week from the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal-leaning think-tank, highlighted that Wisconsin has lagged behind Minnesota in job growth, wage growth and income since 2010, among other things. There are definitely jobs in Wisconsin that are open, though: Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was 2.9 percent in March, the most recent month of data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Minnesota’s was 3.2.
MinnPost May 16, 2018 -
Unionized workers are half as likely to be victims of minimum wage violations and earn 13.2 percent more than peers with similar education and qualifications in non-unionized jobs, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Even workers who aren’t covered by a union have reaped the benefits of strong unions that haven’t been weakened by lawmakers hostile to labor. EPI found that women workers represented by unions make 9.2 percent more than women who aren’t covered by a union. Black and Hispanic workers, according to EPI data, “get a larger boost from unionization than their white counterparts.” Unionized Black construction workers in New York City, for example, make 36.1 percent more than the city’s non-unionized Black construction workers.
Rewire May 16, 2018 -
MISSOURI RIGHT-TO-WORK FALLOUT: Black workers would be most affected by right-to-work laws if they take effect in Missouri, according to an analysis by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. Nearly 14 percent of all black in-state workers are unionized, compared with 10.3 percent of white workers. Missouri lawmakers are advancing a constitutional amendment to make the state right-to-work (that is, to free union non-members of their obligation to pay fees to cover their portion of collective bargaining costs), with the measure passing the House Monday night. More here.
Politico Pro May 16, 2018 -
We have already documented the many ways the Republican tax bill is bad for working people. In short, it’s a massive giveaway to big corporations and the wealthy that throws away trillions of dollars we need to invest in America and create good jobs for working people. This week, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) organized an event to take a deeper look at how the new law will preserve and create incentives for corporations to move U.S. jobs overseas and shift corporate profits to tax havens abroad. (whole story)
AFL-CIO May 16, 2018 -
TRACKING UBER’S CUT: Roughly one-third of Uber passenger fares go to Uber in the form of commission and booking fees, according to a report released today by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. After deducting those fees, plus taxes and vehicular expenses, Uber drivers are left on average with $10.87 an hour (and that’s without enrolling in health insurance or a pension plan). The report also finds that Uber drivers account for the equivalent of only 0.07 percent of national full-time employment. More here.
Politico Pro May 15, 2018