The State of Working America is EPI’s authoritative analysis of the economic conditions of America’s workers. Visit StateofWorkingAmerica.org for up-to-date numbers on the economy, updated when new data are released.
Aug. 29: Unions, inequality, and faltering middle-class wages
Union coverage rate in the United States, 1973–2011Source: Author's analysis of Hirsch and Macpherson (2003) and updates from the Union Membership and Coverage Database |
- “Union membership down, income inequality up,” by Tami Luhby, CNN Money’s Economy Blog, Aug. 30
- “Decline in unions weakened overall wages,” by Diane Stafford, Kansas City Star, Aug. 29
July 24: U.S. poverty rates higher, safety net weaker than in peer countries
Child poverty rate in selected developed countries, 2009Note: The child poverty rate is the share of children living in households with income below half of household-size-adjusted median income. Source: Adamson (2012, Figure 1b) |
- “U.S. poverty on track to rise to highest since 1960s,” by Hope Yen, The Associated Press via Salon.com, July 22
- “This Week in Poverty: TANF, VAWA and Playing Politics with the Lives of Low-Income People,” by Greg Kaufman, The Nation, July 27
- “Poverty in America: Why Can’t We End It?” by Peter Edelman, New York Times, July 28
May 24: Labor force participation: Cyclical versus structural changes since the start of the Great Recession
- “Study: Baby-boomer retirements don’t explain unemployment figures,” by Ian Swanson, The Hill, May 24
- “Jobless rate hits 8.2%. ‘Missing workers’ make the situation look better than it is,” by Meteor Blades, Daily Kos, June 1
- “Core 25-54 Employment Rates Still Near Historic Lows,” by David Hogberg, Investor’s Business Daily, June 1
May 2: CEO pay and the top 1%: How executive compensation and financial-sector pay have fueled income inequality
CEO-to-worker compensation ratio, with options granted and options realized,1965–2011Note: "Options granted" compensation series includes salary, bonus, restricted stock grants, options granted, and long-term incentive payouts for CEOs at the top 350 firms ranked by sales. "Options exercised" compensation series includes salary, bonus, restricted stock grants, options exercised, and long-term incentive payouts for CEOs at the top 350 firms ranked by sales. Sources: Authors' analysis of data from Compustat ExecuComp database, Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics program, and Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income and Product Accounts Tables |
- “U.S. CEO’s pay 231 times higher than that of average workers,” by Marla Dickerson, Los Angeles Times, May 2
- The Ed Show, with Ed Schulz, MSNBC, May 2
- “Former Bain honcho says economic inequality is OK,” by Eve Tahmincioglu, MSNBC.com, May 2
- “CEO Pay Increased 127 Times Faster Than Worker Compensation Over Last 30 Years: Study,” by Ashley Portero, International Business Times, May 5
- “CEO pay transparency would make CEO pay too transparent, companies say,” Huffington Post, June 27
April 26: The wedges between productivity and median compensation growth
Attacks on workers’ right to unionize benefit the rich: Union membership and share of income going to the top 10%, 1917–2021
Union membership rate
Share of income going to the top 10%
1917
11.00%
45.0%
1918
12.10%
44.0%
1919
14.30%
45.9%
1920
17.50%
44.1%
1921
17.60%
47.4%
1922
14.00%
46.1%
1923
11.70%
43.7%
1924
11.30%
45.7%
1925
11.00%
47.2%
1926
10.70%
47.6%
1927
10.60%
47.1%
1928
10.40%
48.2%
1929
10.10%
47.0%
1930
10.70%
46.3%
1931
11.20%
46.3%
1932
11.30%
48.3%
1933
9.50%
48.0%
1934
9.80%
49.1%
1935
10.80%
48.1%
1936
11.10%
48.4%
1937
18.60%
47.5%
1938
23.90%
47.1%
1939
24.80%
48.6%
1940
23.50%
48.9%
1941
25.40%
47.0%
1942
24.20%
42.3%
1943
30.10%
38.9%
1944
32.50%
36.1%
1945
33.40%
35.3%
1946
31.90%
37.0%
1947
31.10%
36.9%
1948
30.50%
38.9%
1949
29.60%
38.3%
1950
30.00%
39.1%
1951
32.40%
37.9%
1952
31.50%
36.6%
1953
33.20%
35.7%
1954
32.70%
36.0%
1955
32.90%
36.7%
1956
33.20%
35.7%
1957
32.00%
35.7%
1958
31.10%
35.5%
1959
31.60%
36.0%
1960
30.70%
35.5%
1961
28.70%
35.6%
1962
29.10%
36.2%
1963
28.50%
36.6%
1964
28.50%
37.0%
1965
28.60%
36.7%
1966
28.70%
36.3%
1967
28.60%
35.3%
1968
28.70%
35.5%
1969
28.30%
34.1%
1970
27.90%
33.5%
1971
27.40%
34.1%
1972
27.50%
34.4%
1973
27.10%
34.6%
1974
26.50%
33.6%
1975
25.70%
34.0%
1976
25.70%
33.9%
1977
25.20%
34.3%
1978
24.70%
34.0%
1979
25.40%
34.3%
1980
23.60%
33.9%
1981
22.30%
34.3%
1982
21.60%
34.6%
1983
20.1%
35.3%
1984
18.8%
36.5%
1985
18.0%
36.6%
1986
17.5%
36.3%
1987
17.0%
37.5%
1988
16.8%
39.3%
1989
16.4%
38.8%
1990
16.0%
38.8%
1991
16.0%
38.3%
1992
15.7%
39.4%
1993
15.7%
39.1%
1994
15.5%
39.2%
1995
14.9%
39.9%
1996
14.5%
40.8%
1997
14.1%
41.5%
1998
13.9%
41.9%
1999
13.9%
42.3%
2000
13.4%
42.8%
2001
13.3%
42.0%
2002
13.3%
41.5%
2003
12.9%
41.6%
2004
12.5%
42.4%
2005
12.5%
43.6%
2006
12.0%
44.3%
2007
12.1%
44.0%
2008
12.4%
43.6%
2009
12.3%
42.5%
2010
11.9%
43.9%
2011
11.8%
44.3%
2012
11.3%
45.6%
2013
11.3%
44.9%
2014
11.1%
45.6%
2015
11.1%
45.5%
2016
10.7%
45.3%
2017
10.7%
45.5%
2018
10.5%
45.8%
2019
10.3%
45.7%
2020
10.8%
44.4%
2021
10.3%
45.6%
- “The Three Wedges That Separate Workers From Their Pay,” by Peter Coy, Bloomberg Businessweek, April 27
- “Where The Productivity Went,” by Paul Krugman, New York Times, April 28
- “Where Did All The Productivity Gains Go?” by Matt Yglesias, Slate, May 1
- “40 Years Of Workers Left Behind,” by Brian Beutler, Talking Points Memo, May 2
March 7: Entry-level workers’ wages fell in lost decade
Entry-level wages of male and female college graduates |
- “Young Adults See Their Pay Decline,” by James R. Hagerty, Wall Street Journal, March 6
- “College degree not worth what it was,” by Tami Luhby, CNN Money, March 7
- “Paychecks for young adults getting slimmer,” by Eve Tahmincioglu, MSNBC.com, March 7
Other media outlets and blogs that have covered the data include BBC News, Forbes, Gawker, Huffington Post, In These Times, MarketPlace Radio, National Journal, Politico, Reuters, Village Voice, and the Washington Post.