Topic: Jobs & Wages

Oklahomans will go another year without solutions to housing crisis (2024 Legislative Wrap-up)

Oklahoma does not have enough housing, especially for low-income families. The state has a severe shortage of housing that is affordable for extremely low-income renters and evictions are on the rise. As pandemic-related rental assistance ends, the situation will become more dire. [More...]

A job isn’t enough to afford housing for many Oklahomans

State leaders often say the answer to housing instability is a job – but jobs don’t help if they don’t pay enough. Wages have risen at less than half the rate of rent for the last two decades, putting working… Read more [More...]

One simple trick that will help Oklahoma’s small businesses and the economy

In a time of rising costs and inflation, there is one key policy change that lawmakers can pass to help small businesses, working Oklahomans, and our economy: Raise the minimum wage. Research shows that raising the minimum wage is good policy. A minimum wage is intended to act as a baseline to ensure that employers compensate their workers fairly for their hard work by providing a wage that can cover basic living expenses. [More...]

Policy Matters: It’s time to rethink minimum wage

Have you ever rearranged your living room furniture? When the light touches the space in new ways, the pieces create a new refreshing ensemble. Much like reviving a dark, stale living room, it is time for Oklahoma lawmakers to shed… Read more [More...]

Expanding unemployment insurance to more workers would protect families and Oklahoma’s economy

Unemployment insurance became a lifeline to many Oklahomans during the pandemic. In a period of widespread job loss, the transfer payments that this program provided working people with the means to feed their families and pay the bills while they… Read more [More...]

Protecting Oklahoma’s economy requires labor force-oriented solutions

To protect the long-term health of our economy, Oklahoma’s lawmakers should enact policies that will strengthen Oklahoma’s labor force participation, which has been declining for more than a decade. Policies that invest in our workforce — such as guaranteeing paid… Read more [More...]

HB 1933 attacks an indispensable support to our workforce

The legislature should reject HB 1933 and any other bills that would inhibit the ability of the unemployment insurance program to provide the support our workers and our economy need. [More...]

Smart investments are the key to an equitable economic recovery from the COVID-19 recession

While macroeconomic indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (the size of an economy) and the unemployment rate (the percentage of people who want work but can’t find it) are useful for measuring the overall health of an economy, they conceal inequalities and long-standing structural challenges that hurt many Oklahomans' ability to provide for themselves and participate in our economy.  [More...]

“Long COVID” increases the urgency for a state paid family and medical leave program

Given the reasonably anticipated increase in need for employment accommodations due to COVID-related symptoms, Oklahoma’s Legislature should act now to create and implement a state paid family and medical leave program that will support job and paycheck stability to workers caring for their own or their families’ long COVID-related conditions. [More...]

The cheeseburger economics of the minimum wage

When talking about raising the minimum wage, opponents sometimes claim that a higher minimum wage will raise the prices of goods, especially in labor-intensive industries like restaurants. This is sometimes accompanied by a jab such as “enjoy paying $20 for… Read more [More...]