Research published in the Economics of Education Review in 2021, which looked at 12 states, found there were “statistically significant negative effects” on maths achievement among pupils on a four-day week when there was low time in school, particularly for boys and low-income pupils. However, those with middling or high time in school saw no significant effects on performance.
Hilary Wething, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said the policy was therefore ineffective. “This is a pretty suboptimal solution to a problem of teacher shortages, which itself are caused by lack of funding.”
Times of London
March 23, 2026
Since 2021, 30 states have proposed legislation that would roll back child labor protections and regulations, with 17 states enacting rollbacks.
“They don’t just want to weaken state standards. They also have this broader goal of eroding the federal standards and the weakening of the state standards is a stepping stone toward that goal,” said Nina Mast, policy and economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute.
“If federal standards are eroded, then they have nothing in place to protect minors from hazardous work, exploitative conditions, being overscheduled, all these types of violations that we’re already seeing across the country,” said Mast.
The Guardian
March 23, 2026
Researchers from the Economic Policy Institute have since estimated H-2A workers could see their wages cut by somewhere between 26% and 32% each year. With the “downward pressure” those reduced wages for guest workers will place on domestic worker pay as well, U.S. farmworkers will likely see 9% reductions in pay. Combined, that’s an estimated $4.4 to $5.4 billion in wage cuts across all farmworkers.
Fresnoland
March 23, 2026
FRYING HIGHER — California should increase the $20 minimum wage for fast food workers to keep pace with inflation, argues a new paper by labor-aligned economists. The report from the Economic Policy Institute says the $20 wage — the result of a 2023 truce between fast food companies and labor unions — has improved earnings for workers and has not caused significant job loss. Now, Josh Bivens and Ben Zipperer write that the California Fast Food Council should prioritize a cost-of-living adjustment in 2026.
Politico California Playbook
March 23, 2026
The nonprofit think tank Economic Policy Institute has estimated the minimum wage for many farmworkers would fall to $13.70 an hour. Their average minimum wage last year was $17.43. California’s minimum wage is $16.90.
CalMatters
March 23, 2026
Black workers make up 18.6 percent of the federal workforce compared to 12.8 percent of civilian workers, according to Pew Research Center. Federal jobs have historically helped many Black Americans reach the middle class because government work offered stable pay, benefits and clear advancement opportunities, causing federal layoffs to hit Black workers especially hard, Economic Policy Institute researchers say.
The GW Hatchet
March 23, 2026
According to the Economic Policy Institute, in 2025, the employment rate for Black women decreased by 1.4 percentage points to 55.7 percent. The employment-to-population ratio for Black women with a bachelor’s degree dropped 3.5 percentage points over the past year, a larger decline than any other education group, including those without a college degree.
Afro News
March 23, 2026
More workers now live in states that pay $15 or more per hour than those at the $7.25 federal minimum, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Tukwila, Wash., has the highest overall minimum wage in the country at $21.65. In Los Angeles, the hourly floor for hotel workers at properties with more than 60 rooms is $22.50, a figure set to rise to $30 in July 2028. Now New York City is considering lifting the minimum at large businesses to $30 by 2030.
How it all affects the job market remains deeply unsettled. At the heart of the debate: Does raising the wage floor reduce employment by making labor more expensive?
Wall Street Journal
March 23, 2026
Federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, and has been since 2009. According to a study by GOBankingRates, a person working 40 hours a week at minimum wage would pull just $15,080 a year, before taxes. Respectfully, I dare anyone claiming “tip fatigue” to try to live on this sum in the year 2026. As that same study reports, “The minimum wage’s purchasing power peaked in 1968 […] [and] If the minimum wage had kept pace with both inflation and productivity growth, the Economic Policy Institute estimates it would sit around $23 to $24 per hour today,” more than 3X the $7.25 per hour that folks are legally allowed to be paid by an employer in America.
Tasting Table
March 23, 2026
Filling in for Joan Esposito, Doris Davenport is joined by Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute to discuss wages/cost of living.
WCPT Radio (Chicago)
March 23, 2026