Among those disproportionately impacted were Black women, who make up 12% of the federal workforce (almost double their 7% share in the overall U.S. workforce) and experienced the largest federal employment losses between 2024 and 2025, says Valerie Wilson, a labor economist and director of the Economic Policy Institute’s program on race, ethnicity and the economy.
The DOGE cuts, which continued for several months, contributed to a disturbing trend: Black women’s unemployment rate skyrocketed to a high of 7.5% in September 2025, compared to 4.4% unemployment among all U.S. workers at that time.
The overall net loss in employed Black women in 2025 was driven entirely by public-sector losses, with most job losses in federal government, according to research from Wilson. Among Black women, the largest losses were for college graduates.
CNBC
March 11, 2026
The rising cost of child care has prompted some families to reconsider whether two incomes still make financial sense or whether having one parent stay home could actually save money. For many households, the cost of care for one child can rival a monthly mortgage payment. According to the Economic Policy Institute, child care for one infant now costs more than public college tuition in 38 states and Washington, D.C.
Kiplinger
March 9, 2026
And when you factor in the latest costs, this story from Minnesota Now reports that Rochester tops the five biggest metro areas in the state for an average family of four, coming in with an average cost of living at $138,018– well over the $134,780 a family of four incurs in the Twin Cities, EPI data shows:
- Rochester metro: $138,018 (up from $126,858 in 2025 and $123,640 in 2024)
- Twin Cities metro: $134,789 (up from $127,391 in 2025 and $119,229 in 2024)
- St. Cloud metro: $123,747 (up from $117,247 in 2025 and $99,166 in 2024)
- Mankato metro: $112,330 (up from $105,867 in 2025 and $103,886 in 2024)
- Duluth metro: $107,757 (up from $103,625 in 2025 and $101,940 in 2024)
KDHL Radio (Minnesota)
March 9, 2026
South Florida Reporter
March 9, 2026
Nationally, only about 1 in 10 child care workers get retirement benefits, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Seattle Times
March 9, 2026
Think tanks like Brookings (widely viewed as centrist to liberal) and the Economic Policy Institute (widely viewed as liberal) argue that without coordinated action, the middle class will continue to erode—making affordability less about choices and more about structural barriers. Still, how to pay for those investments fuels sharp political debates.
Investopedia
March 9, 2026
Economic Policy Institute senior economist Elise Gould noted that manufacturing employment has declined by 100,000 jobs since Trump took office, despite his repeated campaign promises to revitalize the American manufacturing sector, with those job losses accelerating since Trump promised last April that “jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country.” Economic writer Joey Politano, meanwhile, displayed a graph showing 238,000 blue-collar job losses over the past year—employment sectors that Trump’s policies were purportedly intended to buoy.
EPI President Heidi Shierholz summed it up as: “A SNAPSHOT OF TRUMP’S ECONOMY—judged by his own goals: manufacturing jobs are down 100,000 since Trump took office, private-sector job growth is the weakest we’ve seen outside a recession in more than 20 years, and the unemployment rate for U.S.-born workers has increased.” Shierholz’s last point refers to an obsession among the MAGA right about native-born employment that they consistently mislead about.
Media Matters for America
March 9, 2026
New data suggests that living in Rochester, Minnesota’s third-largest city, may now cost more than living in the Twin Cities.
The Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator measures affordability based on housing, food, childcare, transportation, health care, taxes and other necessities.
It states, “Affordability is about whether most families earn enough to pay for decent shelter, food, high-quality childcare, transportation, health care, and life’s other necessities.”
KTTC-TV (Minnesota)
March 9, 2026
Lavender believes a $25 minimum wage is fair for Alabama.
Alabama’s current minimum wage is the same as the federal minimum wage, which, at $7.25, is below the poverty line even for a one-person household by about $600 a year, according to the think tank Economic Policy Institute.
But a $25 minimum wage won’t help if it’s raised and stays there, he said. It must be tied to the cost of living and reassessed regularly. Anyone working 40 hours a week should be able to afford basic essentials and a roof over their head, he said.
WVUA-TV (Alabama)
March 9, 2026