Wages rose much faster for America’s lowest-paid workers than for their better-paid colleagues between 2019 and 2023, a new report says, a striking reversal after four decades of widening wage inequality.
Hourly pay rose by 12.1% in those years for low-wage Americans, from $12.06 to $13.52, boosted by policy decisions that aided those workers during the pandemic, according to a report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
In the same span, hourly wages grew by 0.9% for the highest earners, from $57.30 to $57.84.
USA Today
April 12, 2024
The Economic Policy Institute estimated 2021 average CEO pay at the 350 largest American companies was $27.8 million, including stock awards.
San Antonio Business Journal
April 12, 2024
A recent study published by the Economic Policy Institute evaluated economic performance from Harry Truman to our current situation. The Economic Policy Institute included its data and sources in their study, usually a sign of validity. A quick read of the study removes any doubt about which political outcome is better for most Americans. This link will get you there: Economic performance is stronger when Democrats hold the White House. Please look at this data series for the last 70+ years and acquaint yourself with information TV and blogs don’t have time to show us.
The Columbian
April 12, 2024
The recent uptick in the Black unemployment rate is worth watching, said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. But, she points out, “This is still quite low by any historical measure.”
And she said, other measures of Black labor-market performance are really strong, following years of pandemic-era hiring, and wage gains for low-wage workers.
Gould reports that at the end of last year, a higher percentage of Black workers age 25-to-54 had jobs than ever before.
And wages have improved more than any time in the last 40 years — growing nearly 1.5% per year since the pandemic, after accounting for inflation.
Marketplace
April 12, 2024
The gig economy is now composed of nearly 60 million U.S. workers, just under 22% of whom are in transportation and utilities, according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute.
CNBC
April 12, 2024
Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, told CNBC that although the numbers are concerning, she is not yet alarmed. In addition, she told the outlet that unemployment numbers by race and sex can be volatile from month to month. These figures represent a ratio of 1.55 to one, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Black Enterprise
April 12, 2024
A 2014 report from the Economic Policy Institute think tank found at that time 66 percent of tipped workers were women and the poverty rate of tipped workers was almost double that of nontipped workers.
NPR Illinois
April 12, 2024
If research proves true, Americans may find President Joe Biden to be their best bet on helping them secure a richer future, despite the fact that in polling voters often rate Republicans as the party that does a better job at managing the economy, according to the The Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
EPI recently revisited research on this subject, including work done by economists Alan Blinder and Mark Watson, summarizing that, “The economy performs much better during Democratic presidential administrations than during Republican ones.”
GO Banking Rates
April 12, 2024
Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, an economic policy think tank based in Washington D.C., said government is a sector economists will be looking to to see more growth in education jobs. She added that public sector workers can fuel private sector employment growth as well.
For the first time, hospitality and leisure has returned to its pre-pandemic level after adding 49,000 jobs. Researchers and economists took this development as a good sign for the economy and for workers. Gould said it was a “great milestone” but also noted that many sectors have already hit that level and more.
States Newsroom
April 12, 2024
The CEO Pledge says they will “invest in their employees. According to the Economic Policy Institute, compensation for CEOs increased by 940% from 1978 to 2018, while pay for the average worker rose by a miserable 12% over the same 40-year period.
Industry Week
April 12, 2024