The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, looked at income trends after the Great Recession, which economists say gripped the United States from 2007 to 2009. They found that overall, the top 1 percent of earners gained more income—much more, in fact—than the other 99 percent. In 17 states— Delaware, Florida, Missouri, South Carolina, North Carolina, Connecticut, Washington, Louisiana, California, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Massachusetts, Colorado, New York, Rhode Island and Nevada—all income growth went to the top 1 percent. In 22 states, more than half of all income growth went to the top one percent.
Newsweek
November 12, 2015
Languishing wages have fueled widening income inequality across the United States over time, said Lawrence Mishel, president of the union Economic Policy Institute, a national think tank that receives some funding from labor unions. Between 2013 and 2014, national wages fell at nearly all income levels, EPI research shows. And real hourly wages for those with college degrees fell almost 6 percent between 2007 and 2014, the group’s data show. “The way wage stagnation takes place is that people start out lower in their first jobs, and they have less of an increase as they gain more experience,” he said. “You yourself will experience more wages over time. But when you turn 45, you will have lower wages than someone who turned 45 20 years ago.”
Des Moines Register
November 12, 2015
Child care workers are among the country’s lowest-paid workers, despite the fact that the cost of child care services is prohibitively expensive for the typical American family. The median wage for child care workers is nearly 40 percent below the median wage for workers in other fields, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute that was released last Thursday. As a result, the percentage of child care workers living below the federal poverty level is more than twice the percentage of those in other fields. According to EPI’s report, 14.7 percent of child care workers live in poverty, versus 6.7 percent of other workers.
The Huffington Post
November 12, 2015
According to Atlantic writer Gillian B. White, childcare can amount to 15 percent of a married couple’s income and 40 percent for a single parent, depending on state of residence. A new study from the Economic Policy institute says that the breakdown is even worse for the sitters themselves.
Jezebel
November 12, 2015
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reports that the median hourly wage for childcare workers is $10.31, 39.3 percent below the $17 median hourly wage for workers in other occupations. Only 15 percent of childcare workers receive health insurance from their job, compared with 49.9 percent of workers in other occupations.
Yahoo Health
November 12, 2015
More and more childcare workers are joining the ranks of the Fight for 15. That’s not surprising, as a new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows that the average wage for such workers is only $10.31 an hour. That means many of the workers who take care of people’s children struggle to pay for such services for their own children.
The American Prospect
November 12, 2015
Louisiana is among the biggest users per capita of the H-2B program, which allows U.S. employers to import foreign workers on temporary visas to meet labor needs in industries such as landscaping, hospitality and seafood processing. According to the Economic Policy Institute, Louisiana attracted 2,648 H-2B workers in 2013.
New Orleans Times-Picayune
November 12, 2015
Earning typical hourly wages of about $10.30, childcare workers earn some 40 percent less than the nationwide median wage, well below typical wage range in comparable professions, according to the left-leaning think tank Economic Policy Institute (EPI). About one in seven childcare workers lives below the official poverty line. In many regions, preschool and childcare workers earn a fraction of what’s required for a minimally decent standard of living. In Atlanta, childcare workers like O’Neal may earn just short of what is needed to support a local family of one.
The Nation
November 10, 2015
Child care now costs more than in-state college tuition or housing in most states, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute think tank. That high cost means that it’s no surprise that child care is out of reach even for many middle-class families and downright impossible for low-wage workers. Unfortunately, that conclusion isn’t much of a surprise to any mother or father who has tried to go back to work.
Politico
November 10, 2015
According to the Economic Policy Institute, those who work in child care are among the lowest paid workers in the country, and they rarely receive the benefits (i.e. health insurance) afforded to many other occupations.
Parents Magazine
November 10, 2015