How public policy decisions impact job creation and labor compensation such as wages, health insurance and retirement pensions.
With a high unemployment rate and a struggling economy, passing legislation that discourages job creation would seem counterintuitive. Read More.
Congress must remove artificial barriers to entrepreneurship and job creation, so that Americans will not have to suffer through high unemployment for years to come Read More.
Union contracts frequently require employees to pay union dues or lose their jobs. This forces workers to support the union financially even if the union contract harms them or they oppose the union’s agenda. Read More.
President Obama’s health care law requires employers to offer health benefits to full-time employees. This employer mandate will price many unskilled workers out of full-time employment. Read More.
Whistle-blower laws prevent employers from retaliating against employees who report illegal activity. These laws encourage employees to reveal illegal behavior—and discourage employers from breaking the law in the first place. However, whistle-blower protections do not protect employees of labor unions. Unions can legally fire their own employees for raising allegations…
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added 115,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate declined to 8.1 percent from 8.2 percent. However, further declines in the percentage of Americans in the labor force explain this slightly lower unemployment rate. Indeed, the labor force participation rate dipped…
A recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report defines and counts the green jobs in the American economy.[1] Cheerleaders for the President’s program of green jobs mandates and spending point to the study as confirmation of green jobs’ economic importance. However, analysis of the BLS data provides more…
The labor market made some gains in March, although the 120,000 new jobs were well below expectations of 200,000-plus. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also announced that the unemployment rate ticked down another tenth to 8.2 from 8.3 percent, largely due to rounding. Even this modest improvement in the unemployment…
David John on the JOBS act on WJRT (Flint, MI). …
Testimony before Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, United States Senate …
Abstract: Labor unions should serve the interest of employees—not the other way around, as often happens. Legislation introduced in Congress would go a long way toward making this a reality. The Employee Rights Act guarantees workers a private, informed, uncoerced vote on unionizing. The…
Brian Darling comments on job growth legislation passed by Congress on Portland's WMTW. …
As the national debt races toward $17 trillion and nearly 13 million Americans search fruitlessly for work, America needs bold changes from its leaders. Congress must get federal spending and borrowing under control and get out of the way of job creation in the private sector. …
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that businesses and governments increased payrolls by 227,000 jobs in February and that the unemployment rate remained at 8.3 percent. The unemployment rate remained flat even as the labor market increased by 476,000 potential workers. Job creation was robust enough that the labor…
A few Members of Congress, motivated by American combat in the Middle East, have called for the reinstatement of a compulsory military draft. The case for coercing young citizens to join the military is supposedly based on social justice?that all should serve?and…
What do unions do? The AFL-CIO argues that unions offer a pathway to higher wages and prosperity for the middle class. Critics point to the collapse of many highly unionized domestic industries and argue that unions harm the economy. To whom should policymakers listen? What unions do has been studied…
NO: LABOR UNIONS ADD TO COSTS AND DISCOURAGE PRODUCTIVITY Would you want to work for a company that treats all workers exactly the same, no matter how hard they work? What about one that promotes only on the basis of seniority and not merit? Few Americans want a job with an employer…
Introduction In 1963, President Lyndon Johnson launched the War on poverty with the goal of eliminating poverty in the United States. Since that time, the U.S. has spent over $11 trillion on anti-poverty programs, providing cash, food, housing, medical…
Testimony of Paul Kersey Bradley Visiting Fellow Before the House of Representatives; Small Business Committee; Subcommittee on Workforce, Empowerment, and Government Programs Regarding The Economic Effects of the Minimum Wage Ladies and gentlemen, it is understandable to want to…
Abstract: While layoffs increased during this recession, they are not the primary cause of the nearly 10 percent unemployment rate. The main factor driving the unemployment rate so high during this recession was, and continues to…
Abstract: America needs jobs. A government committed to free enterprise, limited government, and individual freedom, and not to more borrowing and spending, can properly help. To help unleash the private sector to invest and create jobs, Congress should promptly take five specific actions: enact…
Abstract: A January 2012 report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows that federal government employees receive substantially higher compensation than similarly skilled workers in the private sector. The report’s methodology and conclusions are broadly similar to previous studies from both The Heritage Foundation…
Abstract: Salaries and benefits—for identical jobs—are 30 percent to 40 percent higher in the federal government than in the private sector. Claims that this dramatic discrepancy in compensation is warranted because of government workers’ high skills are unjustified, as this study shows. Equally unjustified…
Private-sector job creation initially recovered from the recession at a normal rate, leading to predictions last year of a “Recovery Summer.” Since April 2010, however, net private-sector job creation has stalled. Within two months of the passage of Obamacare, the job market stopped improving. This suggests that businesses are not…
FYI: Heritage WebMemos are now called Issue Briefs. Congressional leaders have agreed to maintain extended unemployment insurance (UI) benefits while reducing maximum benefit duration to one-and-a-half years. The legislation moves in the right direction, but in an improving labor market, Congress…
President Obama recently sent Congress a series of policies as part of his “Startup America Initiative.”[1] The goal of the program is to help startups and small businesses to create jobs. The proposal includes four tax provisions that he also included in his budget. Some…
On Friday, Americans woke up to the news that the labor market in April 2012 continued its plodding path of mediocrity....…
Is it slavery for union workers to work alongside nonunion workers? The International Union of Operating Engineers...…
The Brooklyn Hospital Center wanted to reward its best nurses, so it honored high-performing nurses with a breakfast and...…
Congressional investigators are probing a decision by the Federal Elections Commission to drop a case against a major...…
“I’m not really anti-union, I’m pro-worker,” Rep. Tim Scott insists. A freshman Republican from South Carolina’s first...…
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has rightfully earned the reputation of running a do-nothing Senate. More than 1,000...…
The bosses at the Department of Labor (DOL) have decided that federal wage and overtime provisions should not apply when...…
U.S. Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL) is taking aim at a possible rule from the National Labor Relations Board that she...…
Did you know that there are no Volkswagen manufacturing plants in the Detroit area? Or Mercedes-Benz? Or Kia? Or...…
One year ago all eyes were on Wisconsin as labor unions stormed the Capitol building in Madison to protest Republican...…
Director, Center for Data Analysis and Lazof Family Fellow
Director, Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies
Norman B. Ture Senior Fellow in the Economics of Fiscal Policy
Assistant Director, Center for Data Analysis and Research Fellow
Senior Research Fellow in Retirement Security and Financial Institutions
Senior Policy Analyst in Labor Economics