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Inequality in annual earnings worsens in 2021

Inequality increased in 2021 as the highest-earning workers continued to see the fastest wage growth, a pattern that remains largely unchanged over the last 40 years, according to the most recent data from the Social Security Administration.

Although some low-wage workers have experienced disproportionate wage gains in the current business cycle, the data show that “the very top continues to pull away and amass a larger share of the earnings pie, while the bottom 90% continues to fall further behind,” according to analysis by EPI’s Elise Gould and Jori Kandra. Read the report
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What we’re talking about

Proposed FTC rule would ban noncompete agreements and empower workers

Last week, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a proposed rule that, if finalized, would ban noncompete agreements. EPI President Heidi Shierholz applauded the rule and explained why it benefits all workers. Read the Twitter thread

The teacher shortage

“Education has long been considered a calling, but that doesn’t mean teachers and staff won’t leave if they are substantially underpaid,” states a Washington Post op-ed. The article cites EPI’s analysis that “spells out how teachers in the early 1990s were, on average, paid about 5 percent less than college graduates in other professions. Today, they are paid close to 25 percent less.” Read the report | Read the Post’s coverage

State unemployment by race and ethnicity

While unemployment rates are low overall, Black and Hispanic workers face ongoing disparities in the labor market, as seen in EPI’s quarterly analysis of state unemployment by race and ethnicity. These workers would face even higher rates of job losses in the event of a recession. Review the numbers by state

Better insights into how unemployment impacts Black and brown workers are possible now given EPI’s new research approach to the data. The updated methodology leverages national-level data to estimate state-level unemployment rates for Asian American and Pacific Islander, Black, and Hispanic workers in all 50 states and D.C. Previously, these groups were not represented in the analysis in many states due to low sample size. Read more about the methodology change

More than 8 million workers got a raise on New Year’s Day
The new year began with pay raises for 8 million workers as minimum wage increases went into effect in 23 states and Washington, D.C. The state with the stingiest increase is Michigan, with a 23-cent raise bringing the total to $10.10 an hour. The most generous hike of $1.50 in Nebraska brings the minimum wage there to $10.50 per hour. See where workers’ wages increased

Threatening migrants and shortchanging workers

For too long, employers have lobbied members of Congress to keep funding levels unrealistically and disastrously low for agencies like the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board—so low that they cannot adequately fulfill their missions, according to a report by EPI’s Daniel Costa.
As a result, employers who commit rampant violations of wage and labor laws “face an environment of near impunity,” says Costa. Meanwhile, immigration enforcement agencies like the Department of Homeland Security receive nearly 12 times the funding. Read the report

‘They are undercutting job creation’

EPI’s Adam Hersh told The Atlantic that the Fed’s actions “are undercutting the job creation that we are supposed to be incentivizing.” The Atlantic article cites Hersh’s research on jobs supported by infrastructure investment. Read the article | Read Hersh’s research on jobs and infrastructure

What we’re reading

The Supreme Court hears a case this week that endangers workers’ ability to strike
The Supreme Court hears a labor dispute on Tuesday involving striking truck drivers who walked off the job to try to secure a better contract from their employer, a company that provides premixed concrete for construction projects. Yet, while Glacier Northwest v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a fairly unremarkable case, the stakes for unionized workers could be enormous. Read the article

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