The move comes as the U.S. Labor Department steps up its enforcement of classification rules. Last year, it forced companies to pay $79 million in back wages to 109,000 workers in the janitorial, temporary help, food services, day care and hotel industries. The Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, estimated that 10 percent to 20 percent of employers misclassify at least one worker.
The Associated Press
August 11, 2015
Although the progressive groups’ petition does not explicitly demand that the Fed wait for a specific wage growth figure before raising interest rates, the Fed Up campaign and its partners have largely coalesced around a wage growth target of 3.5 to 4 percent. The liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute, which is participating in the new petition campaign, estimates that with that type of wage growth, price inflation will not “significantly exceed” the Fed’s 2 percent inflation target.
The Huffington Post
August 11, 2015
As research from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has shown, it will likely not be a favorable number for most corporations. In 1965, the average CEO-worker pay ratio was 20 to 1. In 2014, it was 303 to 1. The average compensation for a CEO in 2014 was $16.3 million.
The American Prospect
August 11, 2015
A June report, commissioned by Sanders, from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute found that unemployment among black high school graduates ages 17 to 20 is more than 50 percent. For whites of the same age and education level, it’s 33.8 percent, the report found. Among black college graduates ages 21 to 24, unemployment was 23 percent — nearly twice the rate for whites.
Al Jazeera America
August 11, 2015
CNBC reported Fed funds futures to point to a 55 percent chance of a September hike, up from 47 percent before the jobs numbers were released.
“Trend job growth is rock solid,” Bloomberg quoted Moody’s senior economist Ryan Sweet saying. “It’s more than sufficient to continue to chip away at the slack that’s left in the job market.” But Elise Gould, a senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, noted that nominal average hourly earnings—“the arguably most important measure for the Fed”—was up only 2.1 percent over the year, “in line with the same slow growth we’ve seen” since the end of the Great Recession.
Politico
August 10, 2015
Limited wage growth in July and a job creation rate that lags behind the growing population confirm that the Fed should wait for more progress before raising interest rates, said Elise Gould, a labor economist at the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute. “This morning’s jobs report is clear evidence that the Fed should continue to hold the line, and let the economy continue to recover before raising rates prematurely,” Gould wrote in a statement.
The Huffington Post
August 10, 2015
The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute sees slow wage growth as a reason for the Fed to hold off raising rates. “The arguably most important measure for the Fed — nominal average hourly earnings — rose only 2.1 percent over the year, in line with the same slow growth we’ve seen for the last six years,” writes the Economic Policy Institute’s Elise Gould.
PBS News Hour
August 10, 2015
Labor force participation rate for black men fell from 67.6% in June to 67% in July. That may sound minor, but it’s a big move in a single month Chamberlain says. Still, experts say the trend over the past year is positive. “What’s important is that in the long term, the unemployment rate has been trending downwards,” noted Valerie Wilson, an economist who covers race and ethnicity issues at the Economic Policy Institute. As recently as May, black unemployment was over 10%
CNN Money
August 10, 2015
Having a regular schedule matters — especially when it comes to young people of all ages. According to a new research brief from the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, children of parents working non-standard and unpredictable schedules are more likely to have decreased cognitive and behavioral outcomes.
The Washington Post
August 10, 2015
An article this week noted that at the nation’s largest firms, the top boss makes more than $300 for every $1 its typical worker earns. That’s up from a $20-to-$1 ratio in 1965, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute.
The Virginian-Pilot
August 10, 2015