State of Working X

Similar to the Economic Policy Institute’s State of Working America, the State of Working XX (SWXX) is a series of reports produced by state EARN groups describing the economic conditions for working families in their state. SWXX reports provide a comprehensive description of state economic conditions, often with a focus on labor market conditions. SWXX reports provide data and analysis on job growth, unemployment, wages, incomes, poverty rates, taxes, wealth, immigration, and other issue areas relevant to current state economic conditions and policy discussions. Many SWXX reports also include tailored and timely policy recommendations for strengthening economic conditions for workers in each state.

Publications

Publication

State of Working Louisiana

Louisianans are working at near record numbers, and the state’s unemployment rate continues at or nearrecord lows. The state’s rapid recovery follows a chaotic period of massive, pandemic-related job losses, seesawing energy prices and structural changes to the state and national economies.

Beneath this recent good news lies some stark realities: Wages for most workers are flat, and often are not enough to support a family. There continues to be large wage and income disparities between Blacks and whites, the young and the old, men and women, the highly educated and those with less education. Several of the sectors that employ the largest number of Louisianans and have added the most jobs – retail trade, accommodation and food service, and health care – tend to pay some of the lowest wages and often offer little room for advancement.

This report is meant to give an overview of Louisiana’s economy through the eyes of its workers. While the strength of an economy is often measured in gross domestic product, corporate profits or the fate of the stock market, the most important economic question is how it serves ordinary citizens: Do most people’s jobs allow them to afford a safe place to live, food for their table, and reliable transportation?

A strong minimum wage, tax credits for working families, new investments in education and training, and pro-union policies that make it easier for workers to advocate for themselves can all move Louisiana toward a more equitable economy that works for everyone. But these policy solutions can only take root if we start by asking the right questions.

Publication

State of Working Ohio 2023

This July, Ohio reached a critical milestone. The state posted the largest number of jobs in its history: 5,639,200. Reaching this benchmark was especially important because the previous peak was more than 23 years ago, in May 2000. The July jobs number is preliminary, so we could learn that the true milestone came a month or so before or after, but what’s clear is that Ohio’s recovery from the COVID-created recession stands in stark contrast to the two decades prior, in which the state’s recoveries from recessions were slow and incomplete. This could be a turning point for the state. After decades in which corporations held wages nearly flat and captured most of the economic gains made possible by Ohio’s working people, the labor market is tilting in favor of workers.

Publication

State of Working Connecticut 2023

The purpose of Connecticut Voices for Children’s (CT Voices’) annual State of Working Connecticut report is to provide an overview of Connecticut’s economy, especially its labor market, to dive deeper into the status of certain workers, and to provide policy options to support Connecticut’s economy and workers. To that end, the report proceeds in three sections reviewed below.

The first section provides an overview of Connecticut’s economy and it proceeds in three parts: (1) an overview of employment growth, which is important because hourly wages and annual salaries from jobs are the primary source of income for most families; (2) an overview of personal income growth, which is important because it is the primary economic indicator impacting allowable growth in budget appropriations under Connecticut’s spending cap; and (3) an overview of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, which is important because Connecticut has a high level of long-term obligations and when GDP grows, the tax base increases, making it easier for the state to generate the revenue it needs to service long-term obligations while also increasing spending on critical public investments and providing tax cuts for low- and middleincome families to make the tax system fairer. The key findings are summarized below.