blog post Wage Growth Is Struggling to Keep Up with Inflation By Jenny Duan, Daniel Payares-Montoya Sep 19, 2023 Average hourly wages for private-sector workers have increased 15% since just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. But in many parts of the economy, wages are not rising fast enough to keep up with inflation.
blog post Inflation Squeezes Californians’ Budgets, despite Wage Growth By Sarah Bohn, Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Julien Lafortune Nov 3, 2022 Wages have risen steadily in California since the beginning of 2020 amid a historically tight labor market. But after adjusting for inflation, average wages are down slightly compared to January 2020.
California Economic Policy, Report A Decade of Living Wages: What Have We Learned? By David Neumark, Scott Adams Jul 1, 2005 Living wages seek to raise the income of low-wage workers by mandating higher wages. However, such wage increases may also have adverse employment effects, leading employers to reduce employment of less-skilled labor. This study notes that although living wages deliver some benefits to low-income families, additional policies are needed to help the most disadvantaged.
Explainer Is College Worth It? By Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Cesar Alesi Perez, Vicki Hsieh, Hans Johnson Mar 8, 2023 Rising college costs and a reluctance to take on debt lead many students and families to wonder if college will actually yield a brighter future with higher earnings and better jobs. In this explainer, we explore whether the benefits of a college degree outweigh the costs.
California Counts, Report How Immigrants Affect California Employment and Wages By Giovanni Peri Feb 27, 2007 This issue of California Counts examines the effects of the arrival of immigrants between 1960 and 2004 on the employment, population, and wages of U.S. natives in California. Among the study’s principal findings: 1) There is no evidence that the influx of immigrants over the past four decades has worsened the employment opportunities of natives with similar education and experience, 2) There is no association between the influx of immigrants and the out-migration of natives within the same education and age group, 3) Immigration induced a 4 percent real wage increase for the average native worker between 1990 and 2004, 4) Recent immigrants did lower the wages of previous immigrants.
Report Reducing Child Poverty in California: A Look at Housing Costs, Wages, and the Safety Net By Sarah Bohn, Caroline Danielson Nov 14, 2017 Nearly a quarter of young children in California live in poverty—a fact that has profound educational, health, and economic repercussions now and in the long term. High housing costs and low wages are key barriers to reducing the prevalence of child poverty. Lawmakers have taken action to address these issues: the minimum wage is slated to increase to $15 an hour by 2022, and recently enacted laws aim to ease the state’s housing crisis.
blog post How Are Wage Gains and Government Programs Helping Families Confront Rising Prices? By Sarah Bohn, Julien Lafortune, Patricia Malagon Feb 3, 2022 Wage growth over the past two years along with direct government aid during the pandemic has helped many low-income Californians deal with higher prices.
blog post College and Major Can Matter A Lot for Starting Wages By Jacob Jackson, Hans Johnson Oct 21, 2021 Students’ future income can vary widely by the college they attend and their field of study, with people in nursing and computer science fields typically among the highest earners.
