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Experts from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) held a conference call that discussed the weak gross domestic product (GDP) report and the forthcoming Bureau of Labor Statistics reports on employment, unemployment and wages for the month of April.

Economist Jared Berstein discussed how because the job market is so slim, people are struggling to find hours that will pay them to maintain a modest lifestyle for themselves and for their families. Berstein mentioned that the average pay for workers is falling behind inflation rates, and that a staggering 5.2 million workers who work part time, but would prefer to work full time, cannot, because finding jobs with reasonable hours is too difficult to do.

EPI President Larry Mishel said that once people leave their jobs it is harder today to come back into the market than ever before. Mishel noted that whether our country was technically classified as being “in a recession” was irrelevant- the fact that Americans do not have the jobs, hours, and money that they sorely need is what really matters.