Considering that some people spend more on child care than rent, such a price shift would significantly ease the financial strain for families nationwide. Getting there, however, could be an extraordinary challenge. Average child-care costs in the United States devour at least 30 percent of a minimum-wage worker’s earnings in every state, according to a report last year from the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank.
The Washington Post
May 13, 2016
Diversity among decision-makers is not, of course, directly a monetary policy issue. But as the letter points out, monetary policy does have significant consequences for racial disparities in employment. They cite research from the Economic Policy Institute “demonstrating that for every .91 percent reduction in unemployment for whites, black unemployment drops 1.7 percent” meaning that African Americans have more to gain from monetary policy that is more pro-growth and less inflation-averse.
VOX
May 13, 2016
Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the Economic Policy Institute, said it will not be burdensome for nonprofits like his to comply with the rule. “Employers, including small businesses like mine—we have 40 employees—will have no trouble adjusting to the rule because our competitors all face the same requirements,” Eisenbrey said.
Bloomberg
May 13, 2016
The Great Recession may be officially long over, but a 2015 report from the Economic Policy Institute suggests it “had lasting effects on employment prospects of young people entering the workforce after graduating from high school or college.” According to the EPI report, recent graduates still face “elevated levels of unemployment and underemployment” and lower entry-level wages. The think tank noted “the unemployment rate is currently 7.2% (compared with 5.5% in 2007), and the underemployment rate is 14.9% (compared with 9.6% in 2007).”
Mic
May 13, 2016
Over at the Economic Policy Institute, I’m in hot water over my question about the unemployment rate for young high school grads: Mother Jones’ Kevin Drum seems to dislike a New York Times article calling job prospects for young high school graduates “grim.” Along the way, he directs an odd bit of unprovoked snark at us….The reason we get 17.8 percent while Kevin gets 11.2 percent when looking at unemployment rates for young high school graduates is pretty obvious: we’re looking at 17-20 year old high school graduates who are not enrolled in further schooling while he is looking at 20-24 year old high-school graduates (no college). For the record, I meant for my snark to be aimed not at EPI, but at the Times. Their reporter should have done at least a cursory check of standard BLS data to see if it backed up her story, but she didn’t. That said, let’s take a closer look at the EPI data. I can’t quite recreate their methodology, but that doesn’t matter. As usual, I’m only asking, “Compared to what?” In this case the question is, “How does unemployment among young high school grads compare to the normal rate before the recession?”Here’s the EPI chart…
Mother Jones
May 13, 2016
The Economic Policy Institute’s family budget calculator notes that a single adult needs to bring in $26,106 per year to achieve an “adequate yet modest” standard of living.
Cleveland Plain Dealer
May 13, 2016
A report by the Economic Policy Institute concluded that unilateral MES status for China would endanger 3.5m jobs in EU industry, including almost all its 350,000 steel jobs.
Telegraph UK
May 13, 2016
Child care costs can vary widely depending on where people live, a report released in October by the liberal Economic Policy Institute found. According to the report, monthly child-care costs for a family with one 4-year old child range from $344 in rural South Carolina to $1,472 in Washington, D.C.
The Christian Science Monitor
May 12, 2016
The outlook for many high school graduates is more challenging, as Vynny Brown can attest. Now 20, he graduated two years ago from Waller High School in Texas, and has been working for nearly a year at Pappasito’s Cantina in Houston, part of a chain of Tex-Mex restaurants. He earns $7.25 an hour filling takeout orders or $2.13 an hour plus tips as a server, which rarely adds up to more than the minimum, he said. He would like to apply to be a manager, but those jobs require some college experience. “That is something I don’t have,” said Mr. Brown, who says he cannot afford to go to college now. “It’s the biggest struggle I’ve had.” Most young workers have the same problem as Mr. Brown. Only 10 percent of 17- to 24-year-olds have a college or advanced degree, according to a new study by the Economic Policy Institute, although many more of them will eventually graduate.
The New York Times
May 11, 2016
Mrs. Clinton did not spell out how she would ensure that families’ costs would not exceed 10 percent, although her campaign said her plan to limit costs would include subsidies and tax relief. A report released in October by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research group, examined how much of a family’s earnings are consumed by child care costs in 10 metropolitan areas around the country. In those areas, child care costs for an infant and a 4-year-old accounted for roughly 20 to 30 percent of the median family income, the report said.
The New York Times
May 11, 2016