Female job seekers have fewer opportunities than in the past
The recent decline in the female unemployment rate is largely the result of slow job growth in female-dominated industries. For the facts at a glance, see the Snapshot for October 27. 

The 'sad story' of the unemployment picture
Contrary to claims that the household survey provides an encouraging picture of the job situation, the October 25 Snapshot shows that the household employment rate followed the pattern of past cycles for a year and a half, but has done much worse in the last two years. If we had followed past patterns for the last two years, we would be creating 300,000 jobs a month and have 4.2 million more people employed today. 

States still in jobs hole, and recent trends provide no salve
Despite a couple of months of improvement, the labor market in most states just isn't very good. Whether the yardstick is unemployment levels or jobs growth, it's clear that most states simply aren't seeing the sort of recovery promised by either the Bush Administration or historical precedent. For an analysis of the latest state employment data, go to JobWatch.org. 

Measuring family well-being
How have middle-income families fared since 2000? The EPI Briefing Paper Less Cash in Their Pockets: Trends in Income, Wages, Taxes, and Health Spending of Middle-Income Families, 2000-03 finds that most middle-income families lost ground between 2000 and 2003 and now have less income available to meet their needs.

Health care: U.S. spends more, gets less
Although the U.S. spends more money on health care than any other industrialized country, the United States lags behind other countries in the actual health of the population. For more information, see the October 20 Snapshot. 

Investing in children yields exceptional returns
The problems for children and society that result from childhood poverty cry out for effective policy solutions. There is a strong consensus among the experts who have studied high-quality early childhood development (ECD) programs that these programs have significant payoffs. EPI's latest study—Exceptional Returns: Economic, Fiscal, and Social Benefits of Investment in Early Childhood Development, by EPI research associate Robert G. Lynch—demonstrates, for the first time, that providing all 20% of the nations three- and four-year-old children who live in poverty with a high-quality ECD program would have a substantial payoff for governments and taxpayers in the future. Members of the news media, visit the Newsroom for more information.

The budget arithmetic test
A truly effective budget policy will require difficult political compromises and coordinated fiscal choices. Issues such as health care entitlements and the retirement of the baby boom generation will soon begin to put a squeeze on the U.S. budget, and ill-conceived cuts in domestic spending and unnecessary obstacles to public investment will only exacerbate budget problems. EPI's latest Briefing Paper, The Budget Arithmetic Test: Repairing Federal Fiscal Policy, provides a critical analysis of recent budget decisions and offers recommendations for more sensible budget policy.

Job growth in September indicates weak economy
Job growth was a weak 96,000 in September, some 50,000 short of the number of jobs needed simply to absorb the increase in working-age population and too small to actually lower unemployment, let alone meet the Bush Administration's projections. In fact, post-recession job growth has been bad regardless of the benchmark used to evaluate the strength of the economy. For a complete analysis of the latest Bureau of Statistics employment data, see EPI's Jobs Picture  and JobWatch.org . 

It's Time for a Raise
The minimum wage helps to fight poverty and bolster the bargaining power of low-wage workers. It's been seven long years since the last increase.  That's why over 550 economists—including four Nobel Laureates—unanimously agree that increasing the minimum wage to $7.00 an hour would be beneficial to the labor market, workers, and the overall economy. They also support current efforts—such as those in Florida, Nevada, and New York—to make modest increases in state minimum wages. Read the statement and the list of signatories. 

Unbalanced amendment
In a letter to House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, EPI economist Max B. Sawicky presents a detailed view on why a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget would be ill-advised. Sawicky explains how moderate-sized deficits have historically been an important tool for stimulating economies, especially in recessions, and he points out that even the weak growth eked out in the recent recovery would have been choked off if this amendment had already been in place. To read the full text of Sawicky’s letter, go to EPI Viewpoints . 

The chronic problem of declining health coverage
The persistently weak labor market in tandem with sharply increasing health costs have led to a steady loss of employer-provided health coverage. EPI's Issue Brief, The Chronic Problem of Declining Health Coverage, examines the extent of this erosion in employer-based coverage since 2000.

The State of Working America 2004/2005
On Labor Day 2004, the Economic Policy Institute released its advance edition of The State of Working America 2004/2005. Prepared biennially since 1988, EPI's flagship publication sums up the problems and challenges facing American workers, presenting a wide variety of data on family incomes, taxes, wages, unemployment, wealth, and poverty—data that enables the book's authors to closely examine the impact of the economy on the living standards of the American people. With over 300 tables and charts, The State of Working America 2004/2005 is an exhaustive reference work that will be welcomed by anyone eager for a comprehensive portrait of the economic well-being of the nation.

States issue Labor Day reports
With each release of The State of Working America, EPI also works closely with dozens of state groups through the Economic Analysis and Research Network to help them prepare and issue their own state-level reports. These groups provide a local perspective on economic trends facing working families in their particular states and offer a valuable supplement to the information contained in EPI's The State of Working America. This Labor Day, groups from 24 states released their own reports, making it our most successful collaboration to date.

EPI Bookstore now online
Visit the newly redesigned online bookstore to learn about EPI's forthcoming publications, sign up for EPI's newsletters and alerts, and check out our book sale.

How does teacher pay compare?
Recent claims have suggested that teachers are well compensated when work hours, weeks of work, or benefits packages are taken into account. In fact, teacher compensation lags that of workers with similar education and experience, as well as that of workers with comparable skill requirements. Incorporating benefits into the analysis does not alter the general picture—teachers remain at a substantial wage/pay disadvantage that has eroded considerably in the last 10 years. EPI’s latest education book, How does teacher pay compare? Methodological challenges and answers, reviews recent analyses of relative teacher compensation and provides a detailed analysis of trends in the relative weekly pay of elementary and secondary school teachers.

Minimum Wage Issue Guide
Check out EPI's recently revised Issue Guide on the Minimum Wage, a resource that includes downloadable data, charts, fact sheets, and links to other sources of information on this issue.

Final overtime rules strip protection from millions of workers
The Department of Labor's regulatory changes that went into effect on August 23 strip away the right to overtime pay for over six million workers. The original version of these rules, proposed by the Bush Administration in March 2003, would have stripped overtime protection from eight million workers. The result was widespread public opposition, and the administration promised that its final version of the rules would correct this problem, a promise it has failed to keep. For an analysis of the final overtime rule changes, read EPI’s Briefing Paper, Longer Hours, Less Pay.

Education and economic development 
Strong economies compete on the basis of high value, not solely low cost. The most forward-thinking approach to increasing U.S. competitiveness is to equip today’s and tomorrow’s citizens with the skills and attitudes needed for economic and civic success in an increasingly knowledge-based economy. Existing research shows that a nation that invests in education generates real, quantifiable results. For a better understanding of why money spent wisely on education pays off not only for workers, but for communities and businesses, read the EPI book, Smart Money—Education and Economic Development.

Health Insurance Coverage in Retirement
Access to affordable health insurance is crucial for maintaining the income security of retirees. But in recent years, the skyrocketing costs of medical care coupled with increasingly costly health insurance have caused many employers to reduce or eliminate employer-sponsored retirement health insurance. A book by EPI and the Center for American Progress, Health Insurance Coverage in Retirement: The Erosion of Retiree Income Security, examines the current data on medical coverage in retirement and raises serious concerns about the future retirement security of the elderly and near-elderly.

New education book: Class and Schools
At the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the stubborn achievement gap between black and white students is a key measure of our country’s failure to achieve true equality. Federal and state officials are currently pursuing tougher accountability and other reforms at the school level to address this problem. In making schools their sole focus, however, these policy makers are neglecting an area that is vital to narrowing the achievement gap: social class differences that affect learning. The book Class and Schools — co-published by the Economic Policy Institute and Teachers College, Columbia University — shows that social class differences in health care quality and access, nutrition, childrearing styles, housing quality and stability, parental occupation and aspirations, and even exposure to environmental toxins, play a significant part in how well children learn and ultimately succeed.

A Failure to Communicate
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 has largely failed in its three-part mission to decrease telephone service prices, increase service quality, and create high-tech networks. In the EPI study A Failure to Communicate: Reforming Public Policy in the Telecommunications Industry, author and EPI research associate Stephen Pociask explores how the Act fell short of its goals and identifies some initial steps toward revitalizing the telecommunications sector.

Rethinking growth strategies  
As state and local governments expand efforts to promote economic development, one increasingly popular technique for encouraging investment is the use of state and local tax cuts and tax incentives to lure businesses. In the EPI study Rethinking Growth Strategies, author Robert G. Lynch analyzes the existing research to show that state and local tax cuts and tax incentives largely fail to draw firms to a particular location, substantially improve local economic development, or stimulate job creation in a cost-effective manner. A more successful approach to economic growth may involve raising taxes in order to better provide essential public services such as schools, education, and health care.

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