Although women have seen the gender wage gap narrow, much of the gain is attributable to wage stagnation, according to a new report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. The report finds that since 1979 about 40 percent of the reduction in the male-female gap occurred because men’s wages stagnated rather than because women’s wages grew. According to the report, in 2014 the hourly median wage for women ($15.21) was 82.9 percent that of that for men ($18.35). The report also found that women earn less than men at every education level, and that the gender wage gap is largest among top earners. EPI will release its Women’s Economic Agenda this morning at an event that will include Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Liz Shuler, and SEIU Executive Vice President Rocio Saenz. http://bit.ly/1j6AQ00
Politico
November 18, 2015
Minimum wage earners include health care workers, waiters and waitresses, and office staff. As the infographic below from the Economic Policy Institute shows, the typical worker who would benefit from a proposal to raise the federal minimum to $12 by 2020 is a woman whose family relies on her for more than half of its income. Nearly two-fifths of all women of color would benefit from such an increase.
MSNBC
November 18, 2015
Instead, other analysts say that families earning less than $48,000, which is about twice the federal poverty line for a family of four, typically have no discretionary income. The Economic Policy Institute, for example, estimates the minimal family budget for a family of four “to secure an adequate but modest living standard” is at a least $49,000, but in high-cost cities such as Washington, D.C. can exceed $100,000.)
Time
November 18, 2015
The implicit argument behind FWD.us is that the U.S. doesn’t have enough high-skilled domestic workers to meet tech companies’ needs. This is a myth, and Zuckerberg and FWD.us are just the latest tech players to promote it. In fact there is no shortage of domestic IT workers, as shown in a new study from the Economic Policy Institute. While there is an unusually low unemployment rate among American tech workers (3%), they haven’t enjoyed the large salary increases that would signal a shortage.
Gawker
November 18, 2015
The cost of child care for a 4-year old currently consumes more than half of a minimum-wage earning parent’s budget in 20 states; and 30 percent or more in every other state. And infant care costs more than half of a minimum-wage-earning parent’s income in 37 states. More than one in four working mothers and 40 percent of all single mothers would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
CNBC
November 18, 2015
At large public companies, boards of directors are usually in charge of how and what to pay their CEOs. It’s an expensive decision. Among the 350 top firms (by sales) in the United States, the average CEO compensation package added up to $15.2 million in 2013, according to the Economic Policy Institute. That compensation includes a vast array of factors, such as salary, bonuses, stock options, and long-term incentive payouts.
Forbes
November 18, 2015
See excerpt: The rise of Uber has convinced many pundits, economists, and policymakers that freelancing via digital platforms is becoming increasingly important to Americans’ livelihood. It has also promoted the idea that new technology—particularly the explosion of platforms enabling the gig economy—will fundamentally alter the future of work. While Uber and other new companies in the gig economy receive a lot of attention, a look at Uber’s own data about its drivers’ schedules and pay reveals them to be much less consequential than most people assume. In fact, dwelling on these companies too much distracts from the central features of work in America that should be prominent in the public discussion: a disappointingly low minimum wage, lax overtime rules, weak collective-bargaining rights, and excessive unemployment, to name a few. When it comes to the future of work, these are the aspects of the labor market that deserve the most attention.
The Atlantic
November 16, 2015
On Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will join the Economic Policy Institute to discuss a report about women in the workforce who are being paid less than men despite obtaining more education.
The Hill
November 16, 2015
But Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, told the Post that the letter implied that “things are changing much faster than they are, and that therefore the legal models that we have shouldn’t be applied … I think that something like this could be misused.” The Wall Street Journal, the conservative American Enterprise Institute, and EPI President Larry Mishel have all warned that concrete evidence of a large-scale U.S. shift from salaried employment to independent contracting has yet to emerge.
Politico
November 16, 2015
In the US, there were roughly 2 million workers in in-home occupations in 2012, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). About 93% of the workers were women and more than 33% were immigrants.
The Guardian
November 16, 2015