Labor Market & Workforce

Minimum-wage bump is good for all; Even businesses in low-paying industries will benefit

December 11, 2016. This op-ed by Lorelei Salas and James Parrott appeared on crainsnewyork.com and in the December 12, 2016 print edition of Crain's New York Business. When the state's minimum wage rises to $11 an hour from $9 on Dec. 31, workers at New York City businesses with more than 10 employees will see the largest percentage minimum-wage increase in 60 years. It will be a welcome and much-needed addition to paychecks for more than 800,000 low-wage workers struggling to make ends meet in [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:26:59-05:00December 11th, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Letters|

New Census Data Show Improvement in Poverty and Incomes in New York State

September 19, 2016. New York has reason to be optimistic as poverty is declining and incomes are on the upswing, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. FPI notes that there were significant declines in the overall poverty rates for New York State and New York City in 2015 from 2014 (but no other significant year-over-year changes). The New York State poverty rate for 2015 was 15.4%, down 0.5% from 2014 (15.9%) resulting in approximately 90,000 fewer New Yorkers living in poverty. New [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:26:59-05:00September 19th, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Press Releases|

New York State Leads Nation in Income Inequality

June 16, 2016. In Income inequality in the US by state, metropolitan area, and county, a new report published by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) for the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN), Mark Price, an economist at the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg, PA and Estelle Sommeiller, a socio-economist at the Institute for Research in Economic and Social Sciences in Greater Paris, France detail the incomes of the top 1 percent and the bottom 99 percent by state, metropolitan area, and county. “Great income [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2025-04-04T14:27:27-04:00June 16th, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

Testimony: Proposed $15 Baltimore Minimum Wage

June 15, 2016. In testimony before the Baltimore City Council, James Parrott, says it would be sound public policy for the City of Baltimore to phase in a $15 an hour minimum wage. Considerable compelling and economically sound research supports the conclusion that businesses can accommodate such an increase. A higher wage floor would generate significant cost savings due to reduced turnover and there is room for modest price increases to ease the adjustment without jeopardizing overall employment levels or profitability. Businesses of all sizes [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:26:59-05:00June 15th, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Testimony|

Heights of Privilege

June 2, 2016. The following article by James Parrott appeared in the Spring 2016 issue of The American Prospect magazine. If you want to learn about the latest manifestations of inequality in urban America, read the real-estate sections of newspapers and magazines and check out the photo spreads on luxury condos in new residential skyscrapers. The palatial size, lavish finishes, and breathtaking price tags of these properties are advertisements of our new Gilded Age. In the area immediately south of Central Park in Manhattan now known as [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:00-05:00June 2nd, 2016|City Budget, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Letters, Tax & Budget, Tax Policy|

A Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service

May 12, 2016. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is under attack by forces that favor privatization and oppose sensible proposals to invest in expanding its package delivery services and in re-introducing postal banking services that exist in many countries and that were provided in the United States from 1910 to 1966. With the Postal Service’s unparalleled network of post offices in every neighborhood and village in the country, postal banking has the potential to provide affordable, consumer-friendly financial services to lower-income households and communities that [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:00-05:00May 12th, 2016|Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Testimony|

Statement on Minimum Wage Announcement

March 31, 2016. The Fiscal Policy Institute is pleased to hear that a deal has been reached on increasing the minimum wage and that New York is on a path to $15 for all workers. This historic decision will provide wage increases to over 3.1 million New Yorkers that need and deserve a raise. Approximately 46 percent of workers benefiting from this increase, those in New York City, will see their wages rise to $15 per hour by the end of 2018 (2019 for workers in [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:00-05:00March 31st, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Press Releases|

Upstate-Downstate Wage Differentials are Relatively Small in Low-Wage Occupations

March 24, 2016. For the bulk of low-wage occupations most likely to be affected by a higher minimum wage, wage levels are fairly uniform between upstate and downstate. Phasing in the minimum wage increase over 6 years to 2021 for the upstate areas as opposed to 3 years for downstate provides ample time for upstate businesses whose wage levels generally are 5% to 10% lower than downstate to adjust to the higher wage floor. See the complete brief for further details.

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:00-05:00March 24th, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

$15 Minimum Wage Would Raise Earnings for 1.1 Million Immigrants

March 23, 2016. In a brief, the Fiscal Policy Institute states that gradually raising the New York State minimum wage from its current level of $9/hour to $15/hour by 2019 in New York City and mid-2021 in the rest of the state would give a much-needed raise to 1.1 million immigrant workers. In all, there are 3.2 million New York workers who will benefit from the phased-in wage increase, which would on average increase wages by $4,900 per year. These numbers reflect the workers who [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:00-05:00March 23rd, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Migration, Press Releases, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

The Retail Sector—New York’s Biggest Low-wage Employer Needs to Provide Higher Wages

March 22, 2016. Among all sectors, retail trade has the most low-wage workers in New York State. Over a half million (555,200) retail workers will benefit from an increase in the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour. These workers make up nearly a fifth (18 percent) of the 3.2 million workers receiving a wage boost, although retail jobs represent one in nine of all New York jobs. With the phased-in $15 minimum wage floor, 61 percent of all women retail workers would receive higher wages, [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:01-05:00March 22nd, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations|

New York Economists Support a Statewide $15 Minimum Wage; Recent academic research shows it’s good for workers, businesses and the economy

March 14, 2016. More than 75 economists from throughout New York State joined together this week to send a message to Albany: a phased-in increase in the minimum wage to $15 by 2019 in New York City and by mid-2021 in the rest of the state is a prudent and much needed policy that would raise the incomes of struggling low-wage workers and boost their spending power without hurting the state’s economy. The economists’ statement cites a number of academic authorities in summarizing the case [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:01-05:00March 14th, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, Letters, Press Releases|

Berkeley Report on Impact of $15 NY Minimum Wage Released

March 11, 2016. In a new report from the University of California at Berkeley, noted economist Michael Reich and colleagues take a comprehensive look at the likely impact of a $15 minimum wage in New York State. This report assesses the broad impact on businesses and the overall economy and employment levels from the proposed phased-in $15 minimum wage. The report makes a significant contribution to the minimum wage literature since it looks broadly across the economy and factors in both the impacts on workers [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:01-05:00March 11th, 2016|Blog, Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce|

Testimony at the Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the FY 2017 Executive Budget – Workforce Development

February 3, 2016. James Parrott testified at a New York State Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means Committees hearing on workforce development about the impace of a $15 an hour minimum wage.

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:02-05:00February 3rd, 2016|Economic Trends & Policy, Labor Market & Workforce, State Budget, Testimony|

New York State Economic and Fiscal Outlook FY 2017

February 3, 2016. In its 26th annual New York State budget briefing book, the Fiscal Policy Institute analyzes and comments on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s FY 2017 Executive Budget. The Executive Budget advances some bold and progressive proposals that well reflect the values and needs of New Yorkers. In particular, the governor has shown great leadership and vision in forcefully advocating for a first-in-the nation statewide $15 minimum wage. If enacted, the minimum wage increase would lift the incomes of 3.2 million New Yorkers who desperately [...]

Fiscal Policy Institute2024-12-18T12:27:02-05:00February 3rd, 2016|City Budget, Economic Outlook, Economic Trends & Policy, Education, Healthcare, Labor Market & Workforce, Reports, Briefs and Presentations, Social Policy, State Budget, Tax Policy|