Auto employment in the Great Lakes region, while still nearly double that of southern states, has slid 34% in the last two decades to 382,000 workers as of 2021, according to analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics done by the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank. The decline has been driven in part by Detroit car companies downsizing and by plant closures during the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009.
Wall Street Journal
September 1, 2023
The Economic Policy Institute, in a testimony by Elise Gould in support of the 2023 Fair Wage Act that raises the minimum wage in Maryland to $15 per hour, found that raising the minimum wage advances gender and racial justice.
The Daily Record
September 1, 2023
Paying people a living wage may also boost the economy: The Economic Policy Institute estimated that raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025 could save taxpayers between $13.4 billion and $31.0 billion annually on major public assistance expenditures, all while increasing tax revenues since people are making more money.
Forbes
September 1, 2023
While Lyft and Uber report drivers earned approximately $35 per utilized hour in the second half of 2022, including tips and bonuses, an Economic Policy Institute report in 2022 revealed about 14% of all gig workers using digital platforms earned less than the $7.25 federal minimum wage on an hourly basis.
Beaver County Times
September 1, 2023
Yet, while the workforce has grown over the last four decades, Wage and Hour’s team of investigators has shrunk from a high of 1,232 in 1978 to 810 at the end of last year, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
American Prospect
September 1, 2023
Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at the Economic Policy Institute, said current TPS holders have high labor force participation rates and contribute billions to the U.S. economy every year.
“TPS raises wages through the provision of work authorization for people who don’t have it. … Higher wages also mean more spending back in the economy, which creates more jobs,” he said.
Voice of America
September 1, 2023
The push to strengthen the enforcement of labor laws comes on the heels of a push by lawmakers in some states to loosen child labor regulations amid high demand for workers. In the past two years, at least 10 states have introduced or passed laws that ease workplace protections for minors, according to a March report published by the Economic Policy Institute. Mississippi was not among those states.
Associated Press
September 1, 2023
The new rule would raise the proportion of salaried workers guaranteed overtime pay from 15 percent, as estimated by the Economic Policy Institute, to 27 percent, according to labor officials.
Truthout
September 1, 2023
Some experts speculate that the transition to EV could cause massive job losses. The Economic Policy Institute put out a report in September 2021 estimating that it could cost roughly 75,000 U.S. auto industry jobs by 2030, but could also create 150,000 if subsidies were provided to spur domestic production.
In These Times
September 1, 2023
Roughly 15% of salaried workers are now entitled to overtime pay, the AP reports citing data from the Economic Policy Institute. If the new rule passes, nearly 30% of salaried workers would become eligible for overtime, though that’s far lower than the 60% of salaried workers who were entitled to overtime pay in the 1970s, per the EPI. Since then, the threshold has not kept pace with wage growth, experts say.
CNBC
September 1, 2023