Media clips
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Features EPI data in graphic.
The New York Times March 1, 2018 -
As encouraging as the new report is, its author — Elise Gould of the Economic Policy Institute — told me that people should not be confused by the big picture. The recent pay raises for the poor and middle class don’t come close to erasing the inequality in pay increases of the 21st century. High-income workers have still done much better since 2000 than middle- or low-income workers. And the Trump tax law will worsen the situation. But a year of good news is still worth celebrating. A couple of other details from the report: Women’s median hourly wage rose to 84 percent of men’s median wage, up from 78.3 percent in 2000. “The gap has essentially been cut in half since the 1970s,” Gould said. A big reason is that women have become more educated than men, and more educated workers earn a large premium. African-American workers were the one big group that didn’t narrow its disadvantage in 2017. It’s a deeply disturbing trend: The median African-American hourly wage was 74.6 percent of the median white wage, down from 79.2 percent in 2000. (Related: On the 50th anniversary of the Kerner Commission report, a Times Op-ed today looks at the state of racial inequities in America.) You can read the Economic Policy Institute report here.
The New York Times March 1, 2018 -
U.S. wage growth remains slow and uneven, with African-Americans and women still at a clear disadvantage while the wealthiest are accumulating more money than ever, a new analysis of census data shows. Median real wages grew only 0.2 percent over the past year, according to a report to be released Thursday by the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think-tank. Wages for African-Americans declined in most wage brackets, while women with graduate degrees made less money than men with only college degrees. By contrast, those in the 95th wage percentile saw an average pay hike of 1.5 percent over the past year. (whole story)
Bloomberg March 1, 2018 -
Wages lag inflation target: A paper by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute — yes, Virginia, there are two EPIs, both of which address workplace issues, one left-leaning and one right-leaning; we find it confusing, too — anyway, the left-leaning EPI finds wages are not growing fast enough for the economy to be considered to be at full employment. Wages should grow 3.5 percent to keep up with the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent inflation target, the report argues, but they grew only 2.4 percent in 2017. “This relatively slow rate of nominal wage growth provides a strong indication that the economy still has a ways to go before reaching full employment,” the study says. Read the report here.
Politico Pro March 1, 2018 -
If the court rules against unions, it’s possible that 1.5 million Black women will no longer have equitable union representation. Membership fees sustain union operations, which tend to support marginalized workers in particular. Public sector unions have fought for equal pay for women of color and have historically served as advocates for workplace integration. According to the Economic Policy Institute, Black women union members have increased their wages up to 94.9 percent of their Black male counterparts, compared to 91 percent of non-union Black women. The National Women’s Law Center found similar outcomes for unionized Latina women as well. While we have not achieved full pay equity across race and gender, unions prove themselves to be one vehicle to push for systemic change.
March 1, 2018 -
Celine is a guest.
Wisconsin Public Radio March 1, 2018 -
Celine is a guest.
Working Life March 1, 2018 -
After Martin Luther King Jr’s 1968 assassination sparked riots across the U.S., President Lyndon B. Johnson commissioned a report to examine the roots of unrest in black communities. The primary cause? “White racism” leading to discrimination and unemployment in, education, and housing, the report found. Some 50 years later, despite milestones including the election of America’s first black president, the economic landscape has barely changed for black Americans, a new report released this week by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal, nonprofit Washington, D.C.-based think tank, found. “In almost all areas, it is about the same and in other areas there is actually lost ground,” said Valerie Wilson, director of the EPI’s program on race, ethnicity, and the economy and an author on the study. “We have not seen nearly as much progress in economic outcomes as we might expect given the gains in other outcomes.”
Market Watch March 1, 2018 -
Thus, the 50th anniversary of the Kerner commission offers a chance for reflection. Janelle Jones, John Schmitt, and Valerie Wilson offer a useful starting point in the short report, 50 years after the Kerner Commission: African Americans are better off in many ways but are still disadvantaged by racial inequality, from the Economic Policy Institute (February 26, 2018). The report compares black and white America in 1968 and the present, along a number of dimensions. (So that the table would be more readaable on the blog, I’ve trimmed off the last column, which shows changes between the two years.) For example, blacks have made dramatic gains to near-equality with whites in high school graduation rates. But in terms of college attendance, the racial gap remains very large. (whole story)
Conversable Economist March 1, 2018 -
New research from the Economic Policy Institute reveals that, now more than ever, American workers are divided into one of two categories: employed and overworked, and those struggling to enter or re-enter the workforce. The report, written by Valerie Wilson, EPI director of the program on race, ethnicity and the economy, and Janelle Jones, an economic analyst, examines data on trends in the proportion of workers considered non-earners, and prime-age workers’ annual work hours from 1979 to 2016. Prime age refers to men and women between the ages of 25 and 54 years; non-earners comprise prime-age adults who haven’t worked for an entire year. (whole story)
Human Resources Executive March 1, 2018