WAGES

The Obama legacy on wages

In a new article, EPI’s Josh Bivens assesses the Obama administration’s performance in promoting policies that generate broad-based wage growth. Bivens finds that Obama’s policy record on wages is strong but that the actual performance of wages during his tenure was extraordinarily weak due largely to the economy he inherited in his first term.

Federal inaction on minimum wage has left many workers behind

As of January 1, 29 states and the District of Columbia have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. A new Economic Snapshot shows that, without any change in either the federal or their states’ minimum wages by November 2020, minimum wage workers in the 21 states stuck at $7.25 will be paid 31.7 percent less than workers in states with higher minimum wages.