In recent years, several states — many of them led by Republican governors — have rolled back child labor laws. This map from the Economic Policy Institute illustrates the spike in states rolling back these laws from 2021 to 2024. Back in 2023, for example, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill that made it easier for companies to hire children without getting consent from their parents.
MSNBC
April 1, 2025
School bus driver shortages have been an issue both locally and across the country. Data from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) indicates that from September 2019 to September 2023, there was a 15.1% decrease in the total number of K-12 bus drivers nationwide.
Saratoga Today
April 1, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has long criticized trade agreements and advocated tariff protection for the manufacturing sector. Thea Lee, a recognized progressive voice on trade issues, was president of the EPI from 2017 to 2021 before serving as Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs in the Department of Labor from 2021 to 2025. Lee and EPI chief economist Josh Bivens have shaped the EPI’s trade agenda.
In February 2025 (updated in March 2025), EPI published a “Fact Sheet” on tariffs with extensive comments on Trump’s agenda.
The Daily Economy
April 1, 2025
The governor’s office opened a portal for newly fired federal workers to highlight jobs available in the state. Wisconsin had 28,915 federal workers as of last year, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Wisconsin Examiner
April 1, 2025
“Montana, North Dakota, [and] Maine all have really disproportionately high shares of their trade with Canada, and the lion’s share of that is oil and gas,” said Adam Hersh, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. According to an Economic Policy Institute analysis of U.S. census data, 69 percent of Maine imports and 64 percent of North Dakota imports are sourced from Canada. Hersh also noted that the oil refining industry would be greatly affected if the pause on tariffs on Canadian oil and gas—set to expire in the beginning of April—is not extended.
The New Republic
April 1, 2025
If the administration were to revert back to the Obama-era wage rate, Heidi Shierholz, a former chief economist at the DOL said it would mean a “25% pay cut for a full-time federal contractor earning the minimum wage—a loss of over $9,000 a year.”
Shierholz, now president of the Economic Policy Institute, added that there’s enough confusion around what the rate is that “employers won’t feel any need to comply.”
Bloomberg Law
April 1, 2025
Since 2023, three states have rolled back laws requiring minors to get youth work permits, including Iowa, Arkansas, and Alabama, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute. I
Fortune
April 1, 2025
But Kevin Dempsey, CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, said the tariff helped revive the industry before the levy was watered down by exceptions and loopholes. U.S. steelmakers announced plans to invest about $15.7 billion in new or upgraded steel facilities, creating at least 3,200 new jobs, according to a 2021 study by the Economic Policy Institute.
USA Today
April 1, 2025