Labor and Wage
Same Work, Less Pay: Virginia's Persistent Gender Gap
Women in Virginia earn an average of just 81 cents for every dollar men earn, and this difference is larger than in most other states, according to a new report by The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis. In addition, the new report shows the gap widens at higher wage and education levels.
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Scratching the Surface: The State of Working Virginia in the Great Recession
It’s bad, and it’s going to get worse. Since the Great Recession started in December 2007, Virginia’s growth in unemployment rate has been two- to three-times that of the 1981 and 2001 recessions. Substantial job losses have wiped out the gains of the recent economic expansion. Wage declines continued for most workers, and a weak safety net in Virginia has meant that only a fraction of unemployed workers are actually covered by the unemployment insurance system.
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Fighting Poverty in Virginia
Virginia faces troubling trends in tackling poverty. The state has made no real progress in reducing poverty over the past twenty years, is reaching only a fraction of children in poverty with public assistance, and the food stamp and TANF programs have not been responsive to rising joblessness, according to a new report by The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis.
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Predicting Poverty in the Commonwealth
Forecasting for the first time the impact of the current recession’s rising unemployment on the number of Virginians forced into poverty, The Commonwealth Institute and Voices for Virginia’s Children estimate that an additional 123,000 to 218,000 people will be living in poverty by year’s end. Among the hardest hit will be Virginia’s children with an additional 44,000 to 73,000 children living in poverty.
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New Study: Virginia’s Workers are ‘Feeling the Pinch’
Despite above-average economic growth in recent years, Virginia’s economy appears to be slowing and many of the Commonwealth’s workers are feeling the strain. Check out the full report at the Commonwealth Institute’s new website- VirginiaAtWork.org- your source for easy access to information on the Commonwealth’s economy from the perspective of the worker.
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Numbers Show Virginians are Struggling
New data released by the Census Bureau today reveals that poverty and the number of uninsured in the state are growing and the incomes of Virginia’s families are no better off now than at the start of the recent economic expansion.
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New Study Shows Union Membership Improves the Pay of African-American Workers
A report released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research entitled, “Unions and Upward Mobility for African-American Workers,” reveals that union membership continues to serve a critical role in offsetting economic inequality.
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Fiscal Facts: The Tax Contributions of Virginia’s Undocumented Immigrants
With all the emphasis placed on how much undocumented immigrants are costing the state, there is a side of the immigration story that often goes untold. Another side to the story is equally important: contributions that undocumented immigrants make to state resources in the form of payroll, income, property, sales and excise taxes.
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The Growing Divide: The State Of Working Virginia
Virginia’s economy has experienced sustained and robust growth in recent years, yet not all Virginians are benefiting equally from the state’s economic success. Wages have failed to keep pace with spiking worker productivity, and some working families have seen their incomes decline. From a bird’s eye view, Virginia’s economy appears to perform relatively well compared to neighboring states and the nation- yet closer inspection reveals that the Commonwealth’s increasing prosperity is not reaching all workers, industries, and communities.
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