Elise Gould
Economic Policy Inst
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Past articles by Elise:
Stagnant topcode thresholds threaten data reliability for the highest earners and make inequality difficult to accurately measure
Measuring wage growth, particularly at high wage levels, has become a difficult task. The most useful, publicly-available data for measuring trends in hourly wages is the Current Population Survey (CPS). Analyses from CPS, for example, (like this one here) are a key reason why we know that except for brief periods of decent wage growth… → Read More
Two-thirds of low-wage workers still lack access to paid sick days during an ongoing pandemic
According to a new report released yesterday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), just over three-quarters (77%) of private-sector workers in the United States have the ability to earn paid sick time at work. But, as shown in Figure A below, access to paid sick days is vastly unequal, disproportionately denying workers at the… → Read More
Low-wage, low-hours workers were hit hardest in the COVID-19 recession: The State of Working America 2020 employment report
What this report finds: Between February 2020 and February 2021, employment losses were largest among workers in the leisure and hospitality, government, and education and health services industries. Even with a partial bounceback last summer after losing more than 8 million jobs last spring, the leisure and hospitality sector still faces the largest shortfall, with nearly 3.5 million fewer jobs… → Read More
What to watch on jobs day: Who has been hurt by the pandemic recession—and why we should ignore wage growth for now
On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release its latest jobs report on the state of the labor market for February 2021, exactly one year since the labor market peak before the pandemic recession hit. Overall, the labor market is down 9.9 million jobs since February 2020. And, if we count how many… → Read More
Wages grew in 2020 because the bottom fell out of the low-wage labor market: The State of Working America 2020 wages report
What this report finds: Wages grew historically fast between 2019 and 2020—6.9% for the typical or median worker—but not for good reasons. Wages grew largely because more than 80% of the 9.6 million net jobs lost in 2020 were jobs held by wage earners in the bottom 25% of the wage distribution. The exit of 7.9 million low-wage workers from the workforce, coupled with the addition of 1.5 million… → Read More
Black workers face two of the most lethal preexisting conditions for coronavirus—racism and economic inequality
“We’re all in this together” has become a rallying cry during the coronavirus pandemic. While it is true that COVID-19 has affected everyone in some way, the magnitude and nature of the impact has been anything but universal. Evidence to date suggests that black workers face much more economic and health insecurity from COVID-19 than white workers. Persistent racial disparities in health status,… → Read More
Six months into the recession and a 11.5 million jobs deficit remains
Today’s jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) gives us a status report on the labor market six months into the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. When the pandemic hit, health officials and policymakers urged businesses across the country to shutter their doors and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. As a… → Read More
What to watch on jobs day: Job losses in April may set U.S. employment levels back 20 years
Key takeaways: Job losses in the last two months likely set us back two decades. Aggregate weekly work hours will continue to fall precipitously. Don’t be misled by stronger-than-expected nominal wage growth. The unemployment rate will exceed the high-water mark in the Great Recession. Black unemployment could hit 20% in April. The employment-to-population ratio, or… → Read More
Not everybody can work from home: Black and Hispanic workers are much less likely to be able to telework
The commonly paired statements that “everyone is working from home” and “everyone is having their goods delivered” amid the coronavirus outbreak ignores a whole segment of the workforce—the ones prepping and delivering their purchases. In fact, less than 30% of workers can work from home, and the ability to work from home differs enormously by… → Read More
COVID-19 pandemic makes clear that we need national paid sick leave legislation
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to highlight the costs of economic inequality in the United States. There’s the inequality in access to paid sick days and health insurance between high- and low-wage earners. There’s the inequality in the ability to work from home across sectors, with workers in one of the most exposed sectors—leisure and hospitality—being… → Read More
What to watch on jobs day: Expected future impact of COVID-19
As COVID-19—commonly known as the coronavirus—continues to spread throughout the world, it is likely to have a direct impact on the United States through the health and well-being of our population. It is also likely to have an impact on economic activity, as workers stop working to care for themselves or their families, and people… → Read More
Lack of paid sick days and large numbers of uninsured increase risks of spreading the coronavirus
COVID-19—commonly known as the coronavirus—is now a potential threat for the United States and we all “need to be preparing for significant disruption of our lives,” warned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week. Unfortunately, preparing for the “significant disruption” will be economically unimaginable for one group of Americans—the millions of people… → Read More
State of Working America Wages 2019: A story of slow, uneven, and unequal wage growth over the last 40 years
Rising wage inequality and slow and uneven hourly wage growth for the vast majority of workers have been defining features of the U.S. labor market for the last four decades, despite steady (if too slow) productivity growth. In only 10 of the last 40 years did most workers see any consistent positive wage growth: in the tight labor market of the late 1990s and in the last five years (2014–2019),… → Read More
Latina workers have to work nearly 11 months into 2019 to be paid the same as white non-Hispanic men in 2018
November 20 is Latina Equal Pay Day, the day that marks how long into 2019 a Latina would have to work in order to be paid the same wages her white male counterpart was paid last year. That’s nearly 11 months longer, meaning that Latina workers had to work all of 2018 and then this… → Read More
What to Watch on Jobs Day: How big is the teacher shortfall?
On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release September’s numbers on the state of the labor market. As usual, I’ll be paying close attention to nominal wage growth as well as the prime-age employment-to-population ratio, which are two of the best indicators of labor market health. Friday’s report will also give us a chance… → Read More
Slowdown in household income growth continues in 2018
Today’s report from the Census Bureau shows a marked slowdown in median household income growth relative to previous years. Median household incomes rose only 0.9%, after rising 1.8% in 2017 and following impressive gains in the two years prior: a 5.1% gain in 2015 and a 3.1% gain in 2016. Median nonelderly household income saw… → Read More
Income growth slows significantly again in 2018
**EPI will be hosting a press call today at 12:30 p.m. Eastern to discuss the Census new data** This morning, the Census Bureau released its report on income, poverty, and health insurance for 2018. “Household income growth significantly slowed again in 2018, following a marked deceleration in 2017. While any reduction in poverty or increase… → Read More
What to watch for the in the 2018 Census data on earnings, incomes, and poverty
Next Tuesday is the Census Bureau’s release of annual data on earnings, income, poverty, and health insurance coverage for 2018, which will give us a picture of the economic status of working families 11 years into what is now the longest economic expansion in United States history. This data is particularly important because it gives us insight… → Read More
Breaking the silence on early child care and education costs: A values-based budget for children, parents, and teachers in California
What this report finds: California’s child early care and education (ECE) system is underfunded, and California policymakers have not been willing to acknowledge the true cost of creating a comprehensive ECE system. Proposals for ECE reform have focused primarily on improving access and affordability for families but have ignored the elephant in the room: Early… → Read More
What to Watch on Jobs Day: Are there signs of wage acceleration?
Remember that ad from the 1980s where that woman keeps asking “Where’s the beef?” I’m feeling a little like her these days, asking “Where’s the wage growth?” It’s true that the labor market continues to chug along. The unemployment rate has been at or below 4.0 percent for the last 16 months, yet, I still… → Read More