Saturday Stats: Numeric news from Policy Matters
Posted August 21, 2021 in eNews
19,200: New data show that for the second straight month hiring ramped up in Ohio, with 19,200 more jobs in the state last month. In this month’s JobWatch, Researcher Michael Shields said state and federal policymakers shouldn’t take their foot off the gas. There are still fewer jobs in the state than there were pre-COVID. Federal programs have helped Ohioans make ends meet, putting cash in their pockets so they can support businesses and jobs.
$74.1 billion: This week, Executive Director Hannah Halbert joined House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, Office of Budget and Management Director Kimberly Murnieks and Senate President Pro Tempore Jay Hottinger to unpack the $74.1 billion 2022-23 State Budget for the Columbus Metropolitan Club. Hannah pointed out some important gains for Ohio’s kids and moms, and also offered a fierce take-down of trickle-down tax policy. You don’t want to miss it.
$10 billion: Ohio could get an influx of $10 billion from the federal government if Congress passes the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Senior Project Director Wendy Patton wrote in a blog. That money could be used to make the bridges we drive over safer, get more people where they need to go via public transit, protect children from being poisoned by lead, and help more people connect to the world with broadband.
1st: Policy Matters filed our first ever amicus brief, petitioning a judge to reinstate the federal $300-a-week unemployment benefit cut off by Gov. Mike DeWine. In a friend of the court brief, Hannah wrote that Gov. DeWine’s decision “runs counter to the public interest, and creates economic harm for thousands of Ohioans, particularly low-income and gig-workers, Black workers, women workers, and those living in areas of the state, like Appalachian Ohio, who continue to experience higher rates of unemployment and low rates of job growth.”
250,000: Even if the court rules in working people’s favor, President Biden announced an end to supplemental unemployment next month. Research Director Zach Schiller told WCPO that Biden’s decision will take an important lifeline away from 250,000 Ohioans.
163,000: Meanwhile, a different decision by the Biden administration will protect 163,000 Ohioans from losing health coverage. The Biden administration rejected Gov. DeWine’s proposal that would erect new barriers to Medicaid. Wendy said that was the right decision, especially with the pandemic surging again.
$512 million: That’s how much money the city of Cleveland is getting from the American Rescue Plan. Outreach Director Daniel Ortiz has been active in pushing city officials to engage Cleveland residents in how to spend it. He made an appearance during the mayoral debate last week to ask candidates about their stances on participatory budgeting.
1.3 million: Researcher Michael Shields told WKSU that 1.3 million jobs in Ohio are restricted in some way for people who have a past conviction on their record. The story is part of the radio station’s “Justice Matters” series.
Coming up:
- Senior Researcher Piet van Lier will appear on a webinar hosted by the Ohio Student Association and Honesty for Ohio Education Youth Coalition. He will talk about two bills in the statehouse that would muzzle Ohio’s teachers from teaching the truth about our history and undermine public schools. It’s on Aug. 23 from 5 to 6:15 p.m. Register here.
- The next day, on Aug. 24, defend students and teachers at a townhall hosted by the Ohio Federation of Teachers and Innovation Ohio. You can submit written remarks about why honesty in education is so important to building a more perfect union. The speak out event is from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Register here.
- Piet will also address attacks on honest education for a Sept. 2 forum held by Save Ohio Higher Ed. There’s no registration link yet, but mark your calendar for 7 p.m.
- Also on Sept. 2, Hannah will join United Mine Workers of America Director of Government Affairs Phil Smith, and Keystone Research Center economist and Co-Director of ReImagine Appalachia Stephen Herzenberg to discuss the legacy of mine worker organizing. The event marks the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain when strikebreakers and law enforcement violently suppressed mineworkers and their families as they marched to demand fair treatment. Don’t miss it.