But in their analysis of the data, researchers at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) explain why the new data, taken as a whole, are less than encouraging. For one thing, the economy added nonunion jobs at a greater rate than unionized ones, so the overall share of workers with union membership actually declined very slightly from 11.6 percent to 11.3 percent. Also, the raw numbers, though not insubstantial, were driven in part by unusually strong job growth that won’t necessarily persist into the coming years. Still, seen in relation to other developments such as the fifty-year high in public support for unions registered by Gallup in 2021, the data offers some evidence that a nascent fightback against the long-term decline of unionized work has begun.
Jacobin
January 27, 2023
Across the U.S., union interest is high, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, a pro-labor think tank, using data from BLS and the National Labor Relations Board. It cited a 53% increase in union election petitions from October 2021 to September 2022.
Philadelphia Inquirer
January 27, 2023
Now that the right to abortion is no longer federally protected, and abortion access is vanishing in red states, it’s time to reverse course and position reproductive health care as an economic issue. This shouldn’t be too be difficult, as the facts on the ground support the connection. A recent report written by Asha Banerjee from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) provides a new, detailed look into the economic consequences of state level abortion bans. Using five economic security metrics — the minimum wage, unionization rates, unemployment insurance rates, Medicaid expansion, and incarceration rates — the report concludes that abortion bans compound economic inequality.
Jacobin
January 27, 2023
Misclassifying employees as gig workers can cost them thousands of dollars in lost pay and benefits, according to a new analysis from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
Business Insider
January 27, 2023
Only 1 percent of Michigan’s 4.4 million workers, about 52,000 total, were making minimum wage when the rate increased this month, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank in Washington D.C. that conducts research.
Lansing City Pulse
January 27, 2023
Based on data from the Social Security Administration, the percentage of earned income subject to Social Security’s payroll tax has declined from 90% in 1983 to just 81.4% as of 2021. As noted by a recently published blog from the Economic Policy Institute, that’s the lowest level of earnings being subjected to the payroll tax in 49 years. More importantly, it’s confirmation that wage growth for high-earning workers is outpacing the near-annual increase in the maximum taxable earnings cap for Social Security’s payroll tax.
Motley Fool
January 27, 2023
Based on data from the Social Security Administration, the percentage of earned income subject to Social Security’s payroll tax has declined from 90% in 1983 to just 81.4% as of 2021. As noted by a recently published blog from the Economic Policy Institute, that’s the lowest level of earnings being subjected to the payroll tax in 49 years. More importantly, it’s confirmation that wage growth for high-earning workers is outpacing the near-annual increase in the maximum taxable earnings cap for Social Security’s payroll tax.
Motley Fool
January 27, 2023
As Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute points out, increased public investments in child care and the elderly could reduce inflationary pressures. We will never be as cheap to produce as television sets, cars, or even robots. We will remain more valuable, even if we can’t be bought and sold.
The American Prospect
January 20, 2023