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
The earnings gap between men and women slightly widened last year, according to a new analysis published Thursday.
The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute calculated women last year earned 18.6% less than men per hour on average. That’s up slightly from 2024, when the wage gap narrowed slightly to 18%.
The wage analysis, which examines several federal data sets and independent research papers, controls for race, ethnicity, education, age, marital status and geography.
The findings were published ahead of Equal Pay Day on March 26, a symbolic date marking how far into 2026 women would have to work on top of their 2025 hours to match what men earned in 2025.
Stateline
March 23, 2026
During the markup, Democrats offered an amendment to exempt health plans from the bill, but it failed on a party line vote.
Scott also introduced into the record two letters arguing against the legislation—one from several former Department of Labor officials who worked in both Democratic and Republican administrations, and another from organizations including the Alliance of Retired Americans, Americans for Financial Reform, Committee for a Fiduciary Standard, Economic Policy Institute, National Committee to Protect and Preserve Social Security and Medicare, National Retiree Legislative Network, and Pension Rights Center.
401K Specialist
March 23, 2026
From 1948 until 1960 wage growth matched productivity growth in the U.S. Workers were getting a wage that reflected their contribution to GDP. Since 1960, wage growth has lagged behind. As a result of wage growth not matching productivity, the Economic Policy Institute finds that more than 43 million workers (25 percent of the labor force) in the U.S. are economically insecure. This insecurity shows up in one in four Americans having no savings at all with another 56 percent being unable to cover an unexpected expense of $1,000.
Jonesboro Sun (Arkansas)
March 23, 2026
…with 21,200 fewer school bus drivers, according to a 2025 Economic Policy Institutestudy. Hines said Tyler ISD is taking a proactive…[paywall].
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)
March 23, 2026
While NEA’s membership base has decreased since 2022, AFT’s has risen by more than 100,000 members in the same time period.
In 2025, 14% of its payments went to political activities, with $500,000 going to the “Senate Majority Pac,” which is “dedicated to building a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate.”
It also spent $250,000 on a “Democratic legislative campaign committee” and gave another $250,000 to the Economic Policy Institute.
Deseret News
March 23, 2026