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LISEP produces original economic research to provide a more accurate picture of the well-being of middle- and lower-income families. Our research includes new economic indicators for both unemployment and earnings (more detail below). Our statistics aim to provide policymakers and the public a more transparent view into the economic situation of all Americans as compared with the traditionally relied upon metrics. In addition to unemployment and earnings, we are working on additional economic indicators that will be shared in the coming months.
LISEP also seeks to guide and support policy initiatives that increase opportunities for struggling Americans, including how we can create a business environment that supports good-paying jobs.
LISEP issued the white paper Measuring Better: Development of “True Rate of Unemployment” Data as the Basis for Social and Economic Policy upon announcing the new statistical measure in October 2020. The paper and methodology can be viewed here. LISEP issues TRU one to two weeks following the release of the BLS unemployment report, which occurs on the first Friday of each month. The TRU rate and supporting data are available on the LISEP website at lisep.org/tru.
LISEP issued the white paper “The Hidden Workforce: The Impact of the Informal Economy on Functional Employment” as part of its ongoing analysis of the functionally unemployed, defined as workers who are jobless, plus those seeking, but unable to find, full-time employment paying above the poverty line. LISEP’s measure of the functionally unemployed, the True Rate of Unemployment (TRU), is tracked monthly on the LISEP website.
In announcing the debut of the True Living Cost (TLC) metric, LISEP issued the white paper Determining More Accurate Living Cost for Median- and Lower-Income American Families (abridged version here). TLC assesses a set of minimal adequate needs that a household requires to function: housing, medical care, transportation, food, childcare, technology, and miscellaneous (e.g., clothing, personal care, and household items) that takes into account household size (the eight household sizes range from one to two adults and zero to three children) and the relevant census region (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West). The TLC tracks the change in price for these needs over time. By contrast, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) focuses on a diverse basket of more than 80,000 items that are less representative of the day-to-day household costs LMI Americans routinely face.
The Minimal Quality of Life (MQL) Index is a comprehensive cost-of-living measure tracking the cost of economic well-being. The MQL goes beyond traditional cost-of-living measures that have been focused principally on survival by tracking both essential expenses and those necessary for well-being, growth, and upward mobility. The MQL reveals how rising costs have drastically outpaced wage growth, making economic security increasingly unattainable for many Americans. The MQL and supporting data, including white paper and methodology, are available on the LISEP website at https://www.lisep.org/mql
LISEP’s Shared Economic Prosperity (SEP) Measure gauges how national income is shared. An important adjunct to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the SEP offers a nuanced view of economic health, analyzing not just the economy’s growth but how that growth is distributed. The SEP compares the income needed to achieve a minimal quality life (as defined by LISEP's Minimal Quality of Life Index) with actual income distribution, revealing whether economic growth is translating into widespread prosperity. By tracking the gap between these figures over time, the SEP highlights how economic gains are being shared and if disparities are widening or narrowing. The SEP supporting data, methodology and white paper are available on the LISEP website at https://www.lisep.org/sep.
LISEP issues the TWE quarterly following the release of the BLS Median Weekly Earnings report. The full white paper, Understanding the Status of American Workers Through Analysis of Current Population Data, can be viewed here. The TWE rate and supporting data are available on the LISEP website at lisep.org/earnings.