Media clips

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• Will 2024 Be a Big Year for Layoffs?

  “I’m not particularly concerned,” says Elise Gould, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

  If economists aren’t panicked, it means you probably shouldn’t be either. Unless, of course, you’re in one of the sectors that’s seen an uptick.

  NerdWallet February 16, 2024
• Think tank reports cost of living in Stearns County

  The budgets estimate community-specific costs for 10 family types (one or two adults with zero to four children) in all counties and metro areas in the United States. Officials say, compared with the federal poverty line and the Supplemental Poverty Measure, EPI’s family budgets provide a more accurate and complete measure of economic security in America.

  WJON (Minnesota) February 16, 2024
• The racial wage gap starts as early as 16 for Black workers—and results in ‘a lifetime of consequences,’ says expert

  Conversely, they make up just 10.5% of computer and mathematical science occupations, according to the Economic Policy Institute, where the median annual salary is $100,440, and 6.9% of legal occupations, where the median annual salary is $95,170.

  …

  And even if public transportation gets you to that job, you “may be limited in the number of hours of work because [you] can’t use transportation at any time,” says Valerie Wilson, director of the EPI’s Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy.

  CNBC February 16, 2024
• Roses are red, violets are blue, Uber drivers deserve fair pay too

  A report by the Economic Policy Institute found that “14% of surveyed gig workers [in May 2020] earned less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.” 

  Popular Information February 16, 2024
• Michigan repealed its right-to-work law, and this data says it may help wages and unions

  The decision to repeal its right-to-work laws may have a positive economic effect—at least, that’s what a brief released this week from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows.

  The report says that states with RTW laws “have lower unionization rates, wages, and benefits compared with non-RTW states,” and that “on average, workers in RTW states are paid 3.2% less than workers with similar characteristics in non-RTW states, which translates to $1,670 less per year for a full-time worker.”

  Fast Company February 16, 2024
• Why Black hair remains a DEI battleground

  States have outlawed hair discrimination through legislation and executive order, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

  HR Dive February 16, 2024
• Black workers are enjoying a jobs boom in America

  What’s more, unfairness goes well beyond hiring decisions. For decades the received wisdom was that black Americans would pull closer to white Americans if they had similar academic qualifications. But Valerie Wilson of the Economic Policy Institute, a think-tank based in Washington, dc, has shown that wages for black and white college graduates have instead drifted further apart in recent decades. “In addition to pay discrimination, a lot has to do with disparities in the jobs that people go into and in opportunities for promotion,” says Ms Wilson.

  The Economist February 16, 2024
• This Texas City Was Just Named the Best Southern City to Retire for Less Than $1,500 a Month

  It also took into account the average monthly cost of rent via Zumper and the average cost of groceries via data from the Economic Policy Institute. 

  Travel and Leisure February 16, 2024
• Job-Killer No More
  • The Economic Policy Institute issued a report showing that so-called “right to work” laws which make it harder for workers to unionize are hurting the economic power of workers in red states, resulting in lower wages, smaller pensions, and worse benefit packages. Additionally, the trickle-down claims that eliminating right-to-work laws will create jobs are patently false: 
  The Pitch from Civic Ventures February 16, 2024
• Fast-food chains are the worst offenders when it comes to child-labor violations—and it’s not even close

  Though the concept is nothing new, it’s gaining steam and poised to potentially become a permanent feature of the economy of the 2020s. “Child labor remains a key issue in state houses across the country in 2024,” Nina Mast, state economic analyst for the progressive, union-affiliated think tank Economic Policy Institute, told Fortune. “While the industry-backed movement to weaken child-labor protections continues to make progress, lawmakers and advocates for youth are fighting back in an increasing number of states.”

  Mast is alluding to her think tank’s research showing that one particular industry overwhelmingly benefits from ambiguities in the federal laws governing child labor, to which many red states have responded by loosening regulations and lowering age limits.

  That one industry is fast food.

  This past January alone, eight states “introduced or took new actions” on proposed legislation that would reduce child-labor protections, per EPI research. These proposed laws involve children working more hours without breaks (and longer during their school weeks), clocking into factory or roofing jobs with dangerous conditions, or even looking after other children younger than themselves “without direct supervision.”

  Since 2021, there have been attempts at legislation in 28 states to pierce holes in child-labor protections. As of 2024, 14 states have introduced counter legislation made to bolster child-labor protections, per EPI. This is at times contradictory, with the same states trying to introduce laws that roll back and bolster child-labor protections.

  Fortune February 16, 2024