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, 1973–2011 Source: 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
Characteristics of workers, by so-called right-to-work (RTW) status (2023–2025)
RTW
Non-RTW state
Switchers
Demographics
Average age
40.8
41.4
40.7
Sex (male)
51.8%
51.1%
52.0%
Race/ethnicity
White
56.4%
59.6%
80.5%
Black
14.9%
9.2%
8.2%
Hispanic
22.0%
19.4%
7.3%
Asian
5.3%
10.9%
3.2%
Other
1.4%
0.9%
0.9%
Education
Less than high school
7.8%
6.9%
6.5%
High school
25.0%
22.2%
27.7%
Some college
15.8%
14.0%
15.9%
Associate’s degree
11.3%
9.9%
12.6%
College degree
25.6%
28.0%
24.9%
Advanced degree
14.5%
18.9%
12.6%
Marital status (married)
52.6%
51.7%
52.5%
Metropolitan area
88.3%
91.1%
77.3%
Worker characteristics
Hourly worker
52.8%
52.5%
60.2%
Full-time
84.0%
81.5%
80.8%
Union/union contract
6.2%
16.0%
10.8%
Average hourly wage (2025$)
$32.78
$40.28
$31.50
Median hourly wage (2025$)
$24.16
$28.79
$24.58
State characteristics
Unemployment rate
3.6%
4.3%
4.0%
Cost of living (BEA RPP)
95.9
104.0
92.9
Number of observations
99,234
114,325
20,596
- “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.