When federal data is suppressed EPI's @elisegould.bsky.social turns to state-level information for the latest read on jobs. See the latest →

Mayor-Elect Mamdani proposed increasing NYC's minimum wage to $30 by 2030. EPI recently broke down what it might take to address the high cost of living and create a fairer economy in NYC. 🧵

Some employers pay their workers w/ electronic pay cards instead of checks or direct deposit. But pay cards create new risks—like potential bank fees--that can prevent workers from accessing their full wages. Does your state have rules in place for pay cards?

Under federal law, agricultural workers are exempt from the minimum wage. That’s why states like CA, WA, CO, & ME have passed legislation ensuring that farm workers in their states are entitled to the state minimum wage. Are farmworkers protected in your state?

Mayor-Elect Mamdani proposed increasing NYC's minimum wage to $30 by 2030. EPI recently broke down what it might take to address the high cost of living and create a fairer economy in NYC. 🧵

Since 1938, workers have counted on overtime pay when working over 40 hrs/week. But Project 2025 proposes allowing to skirt the rules. States need to act now to defend/protect workers’ right to overtime pay. @dskamper.bsky.social and @jensherer.bsky.social describe how ↴

School bus driver employment is still almost ten percent lower than in 2019, but has increased modestly in the last year. ↳ This modest progress appears to be driven by growing wages for bus drivers. The hourly median wage for these workers grew 4.2% in the last year. 🧵

Since the federal Occupational Safety and Health Admin was created, fatalities and work-related injuries have dropped by 65%...even while the US workforce has doubled in size. BUT with Trump attacking worker protections, states need to step in to ensure workplace safety.

Before 2008, workers in every state were guaranteed 26 weeks of unemployment insurance if they lost a job. Today, many states have cut back benefits, some to as little as 12 weeks. With the economy teetering, unemployment benefits are more important than ever.

A strong labor market with high demand for workers is a necessity to get as many willing workers as possible employed. Policy choices---funding SNAP, investing in child care & education, keeping insurance affordable–-affect labor force participation.

AL, AR, & MS have no state agencies to enforce nondiscrimination laws. As Trump dismantles the federal agencies that enforce nondiscrimination laws, workers in these states are at serious risk.

In Minnesota, new hires must receive written notice of basic info like the employer’s name/address, work location, & rate of pay. Seems simple, but having these basics in writing can be key to resolving a wage theft case. How does your state protect you from wage theft?

DOGE’s deterioration of the Social Security Administration through mass firings has led to extremely long wait times for customer service. Nothing about this is efficient. Read the full interactive report here:

Many states have weaker child labor laws than federal standards: In Idaho, 14-year-olds can work up to 54 hrs/week. In Iowa, 15-year-olds can work hazardous jobs. With Trump threatening to undo federal labor laws, states need to update their standards to protect kids.

New research from @aaronsojourner.org (Upjohn Inst.) and Joseph Pickens (USNA) finds that NYC’s Fair Workweek Law gave fast-food workers more predictable schedules without costing jobs. #LaborLaws #NYC #FairWorkWeek #EconSKy

With the looming lapse of SNAP benefits due to the federal shutdown, let's revisit @icidmartinez.bsky.social analysis of who gets hurt the most.

19 states automatically raise their minimum wage every year to adjust for inflation (including NJ, ME, MT, and SD). Has your state ensured the minimum wage will automatically keep up with rising prices? Learn more: www.epi.org/publication/...

Without BLS monthly jobs and JOLTS reports, unemployment insurance claims data provide the most up-to-date read on the labor market. As the shutdown continues, initial claims by federal workers shoot up for the third week in a row. Over 10k initial claims reported nationally last week. #EconSky

Millions of workers earning less than $60k/year were on track to get overtime pay until Trump took it away. But states can step in and make sure workers get the overtime pay they’ve earned. AK, CA, CO, ME, NY, and WA have done so. Has your state? Learn more: www.epi.org/publication/...

President Trump issued a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. What will be the impact and is it enough to fix the program and motivate tech to hire Americans? 🎧 EPI’s Daniel Costa joined @usatoday.com The Excerpt with @danataylor.bsky.social to break it all down

24 states & DC have discrimination laws that are more expansive than federal law. 19 states offer weaker protections. With Trump gutting federal protections, state laws are more important than ever. How well does your state protect you from discrimination? www.epi.org/publication/...

The latest initial federal UI claims data swamp any increases we've seen so far this year. Since the last data point in Sept, initial federal claims ballooned more than 10 times. Claims rose from 588 on Sept 27 to 7,264 claims on Oct 11 due to an uptick in laid off workers and the shutdown. #EconSky

The latest #UIClaims show much higher continued unemployment insurance claims for federal workers, up 156% for the week ending October 4—compared to the same week last year. The growth this year are due to federal layoffs, exacerbated this month by workers leaving federal payrolls and the shutdown.

In 2023, 385 workers died from hazardous working conditions every. single. day. The highest fatality rates? WY, WV, AR, AK, MN, and ND. As federal workplace protections are dismantled, states need to step in to protect workers on the job. Learn more: www.epi.org/publication/...

In some states, unemployment insurance pays workers who have lost their jobs less than 30% of their previous weekly wages. Meager unemployment benefits force jobless workers to accept lower-paying positions, weakening wages & growth across the economy. Learn more: www.epi.org/publication/...

In 2024, teachers earned 73 cents for every dollar their similarly educated peers made, on average. A record low. In 1996, the gap was much smaller: 94 cents to the dollar. We can fix this—by investing in public education. The full report from @epi.org lays bare the challenge—and the solution.

New blog post from my @epi.org colleagues @elisegould.bsky.social & Joe Fast shows that unemployment claims doubled nationwide for federal workers and increased more than 10-fold in Washington DC.

There was no jobs report on Oct. 3 because of the government shutdown. In the meantime, state unemployment insurance claims can shed light on the labor market. EPI's @elisegould.bsky.social & @joe-fast.bsky.social analyze the latest data: www.epi.org/blog/amid-th...

Nothing replaces the comprehensive, trustworthy, and timely labor market data found in monthly jobs and JOLTS reports, but unemployment insurance claims—collected at the state level—offer a useful read on one key angle of the labor market. #EconSky #NumbersDay www.epi.org/blog/amid-th...

As @ddayen.bsky.social and now the @washingtonpost.com have reported - the Trump administration has admitted their immigration enforcement efforts will lead to a spike in food prices. Their solution? Cut wages for farmworkers, already some of the lowest paid workers in the country

Did you know that in 6 states—AL, AR, LA, MS, SD, TN—you aren’t guaranteed any info about your own paycheck? To increase transparency & prevent wage theft, other states require pay stubs w/ written info on how pay was calculated Learn more about the laws in your state: www.epi.org/publication/...

Child care costs are outpacing college tuition in many states. A bipartisan bill could help families and workers by modernizing how child care is funded and reimbursed. The stakes? Access, equity, and economic stability for millions. @epi.org @nwlc.org Story:

"Stable trade relations require a pro-worker agenda at home and overseas, which Trump is leading us away from," said EPI's @ahecon.bsky.social at a National Association of Business Economists panel this morning. Check out Hersh's suggestions for progressive trade policy: www.epi.org/publication/...

Unions help build a strong middle class by making sure that workers get their fair share of profits & pay But union membership has fallen, & the top 10% are getting richer Sen Hickenlooper & former NLRB Gen Counsel Abruzzo highlighted our chart showing this trend in a committee hearing last week:

Did you know that kids as young as 10 can be employed on farms, and there are no limits on how many hours they can work? Federal child labor laws are much weaker in agriculture, the most dangerous industry for children. But states can step in to keep kids safe: www.epi.org/publication/...

A record number of private-sector workers have access to paid sick time in 2025 under state and local laws. But access remains unequal, especially for workers in low-wage jobs and the South. @epi.org: www.epi.org/blog/access-...

In Washington State, the lowest-paid worker makes $16.66/hour – 2x the federal minimum wage Has your state raised the minimum wage to keep up with rising costs of living? Learn more: www.epi.org/publication/...

October is National Work & Family Month! Balancing your job with your family and health needs shouldn't be a luxury – we all deserve the right to care for ourselves and our loved ones without risking our paycheck.

Today is #LatinaEqualPay Day Latinas are paid just 54 cents, on average, for every $1 non-Hispanic, white men are paid. This is not just a number, but a lifetime of stolen wages. The pay gap harms Latinas, their families, and our entire country. Latinas deserve fair pay now!

Did you know that over 1M home care workers could lose their overtime pay because of Trump? The good news: some states are already stepping in to prevent these pay cuts. Learn more: www.epi.org/publication/...

80% of private-sector workers have access to paid sick leave—a record high! But access varies depending on where you live and how much money you make: Highest-paid workers: 96% have paid sick days Lowest-paid workers: 41% have paid sick days Learn more: www.epi.org/blog/access-...

In 2024, CEOs were paid 281x as much as a typical worker 📈 CEOs don’t work 281x harder than you. They’re not 281x smarter. They just get to set their own pay. Learn more: www.epi.org/blog/ceo-pay...

CEO pay has skyrocketed 1,094% since 1978 📈 Typical workers’ pay only increased 26% in the same time period CEOs have rigged the economy to boost their own pay. Learn more: www.epi.org/publication/...

"We are facing an all-out war on workers," EPI's @jensherer.bsky.social told America's Work Force Union Podcast. “We’re in a situation right now where no workers can count on the federal government to protect their basic fundamental rights.” Listen here: awf.labortools.com/listen/jenni...

If we want more people to participate in the labor force, we need to offer better jobs Jobs with higher wages, better benefits, & better working conditions can draw both men & women into the labor force, says EPI's @elisegould.bsky.social & @hilwething.bsky.social: www.epi.org/blog/job-qua...

Earlier this month, BLS released preliminary downward revisions for job numbers in 2024. Our economists explain that 2024's slower job growth was driven simply by slower population growth, not a weaker economy. But the story is different for 2025. Learn more: www.epi.org/blog/assessi...

Latest #JOLTS data out this morning for August 2025 tells us job openings remained unchanged since July. Hires and quits both ticked down while layoffs and discharges held steady. The low hires rate is troubling, now at a rate similar to the immediate aftermath of the Great Recession. #EconSky

The teacher pay penalty reached a record high in 2024. On average, teachers made 27% less than their similarly educated peers. We need to pay teachers more! www.epi.org/publication/...

As Trump attacks long-standing workers’ rights & protections, our new series shows how states can step in to protect their workers. Our latest installments cover unemployment insurance, workplace nondiscrimination protections, and workplace health & safety standards: www.epi.org/holding-the-...

CEO pay is up 1,094% since 1978, while worker pay is up just 26%. Why do we always hear "we can't afford to pay our workers more" but never "we can't afford to pay our CEO more"?