The cost of infant care in Indiana is $1,206 per month, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute. Foster families get a $28 per day base rate to take an infant.
WFYI
April 6, 2026
The proposal arrives against a labor market backdrop that the DOL painted in sharp terms. The agency cited Federal Reserve Bank of New York data showing unemployment rates of 7.5 percent for recent computer science graduates and underemployment rates exceeding 17 percent. It referenced ADP payroll figures showing that employment of software developers – the single largest occupational category in the H-1B system – was lower in 2024 than it was in 2018. And it pointed to a 2023 Economic Policy Institute study finding that the top 30 H-1B employers laid off at least 85,000 workers in 2022 and early 2023 while simultaneously hiring 34,000 H-1B workers.
Human Resources Director Magazine
April 6, 2026
“Folks, today’s jobs report is not good,” declared Heidi Shierholz, president of the think tank Economic Policy Institute (EPI). She pointed to average job growth over the past two months, the reason for the drop in unemployment (“people leaving the labor force”), slowing wage growth, and the fact that “the effects of our war in Iran aren’t even in these numbers yet.”
EPI senior economist Elise Gould further explained those points on social media. Although the report “came in stronger than expected… much of the gain was a bounce back to February declines (now a loss of 133,000 jobs),” she said. “As a result, average monthly growth the last two months was only 22,500 jobs.”
As far as the unemployment rate ticking down, “it’s important to note that this happened for the ‘wrong’ reasons as both the labor force participation and the share of the population with a job also ticked down,” Gould continued. “Job gains were strongest in healthcare as striking workers returned to work.”
Common Dreams
April 6, 2026
Thursday: The Economic Policy Institute holds a virtual briefing on the State of Working America at 1 p.m. …
Politico Morning Money
April 6, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in a July 2025 report documents where and how the Trump’s anti-immigrant policies will destroy millions of jobs in both the construction industry and the child care industries, with subsequent labor force losses impacting women with children.
If the Trump administration follows through on its goals of deporting four million people over four years: There will be 3.3 million fewer employed immigrants and 2.6 million fewer employed U.S.-born workers by the end of that time period, a drop in total U.S. employment of 3.6 percent.
Jonesboro Sun (Arkansas)
April 6, 2026
Unemployment for Black women increased faster than that of any other group, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Houston Chronicle
April 6, 2026
Meanwhile, other nations are signing free trade agreements with each other, risking marginalization of the United States, Lincicome said. The United States’ size continues to make it an influential market, but the circumstances increase the cost of doing business here, said Adam Hersh, a Washington, D.C., economist formerly with the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
“The United States is no longer a country that they can look to as a credible partner,” Hersh said. “And so they have to both hedge the risk of being exposed to the United States, politically, geo-strategically, economically, but also look for new relationships to develop to offset what they’re going to lose from the U.S.”
Detroit News
April 6, 2026
In the United States, education doesn’t always result in higher wages for all workers. For example, according to the Economic Policy Institute, Black workers face significant and growing wage gaps, with Black men paid only 71 cents and Black women just 64 cents for every $1 that White men earn.
Investopedia
April 6, 2026
According to economist Daniel Costa of the Economic Policy Institute, the problem is not immigration itself, but the lack of legal protection for these workers. Without stable status, many avoid reporting abuses for fear of deportation, which increases their vulnerability.
According to him, the sector has become increasingly dependent on workers in more precarious conditions, which contributes to maintaining low wages and weak protection standards.
DW Brazil
April 6, 2026
Research from the Economic Policy Institute documents how the states with the most aggressive voter suppression are also the same states with the lowest wages, the weakest labor protections, and the highest rates of poverty.
The Hartmann Report (Substack)
April 6, 2026