Aaron Sojourner
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Aaron Sojourner
@aaronsojourner.org
29K followers 6.9K following 13K posts

Labor econ @upjohninstitute.bsky.social & @IZA.org. Formerly senior economist for labor at White House CEA, UMinn prof, union organizer, bike courier, house painter, dishwasher... Minneapolis. Views mine.

aaronsojourner.org

Be kind • Work hard • Have fun .. more

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Aaron Sojourner is an American economist and senior researcher at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. He was formerly an associate professor of economics at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management and senior economist for the Council of Economic Advisers. His work has been widely covered by the media, particularly on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market in the United States. .. more

Economics 31%
Education 27%
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aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · Sep 11
For Bluesky-Curious Econ Lovers, a Quick Start guide to plugging into the economics community here.

It aims to lower the costs & boost the benefits for folks to engage here.

If it seems useful, please share it here & especially on X.
📉📈 #️⃣#️⃣
aaronsojourner.org/for-bluesky-...
For Bluesky-Curious Econ Lovers - Aaron Sojourner
This Quick Start guide aims to help econ lovers easily join Bluesky’s growing economics community. The Bluesky User FAQ covers generic basics, like how to start an account. This guide orients you to e...
aaronsojourner.org

aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 53m
Trump unites Canada and Europe (to decouple from U.S. military and stop purchases from U.S. defense companies).
bsky.app/profile/carl...

aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 1h
Great! Please share with others who might find it useful.

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

gfriedma.bsky.social
Gerald Friedman @gfriedma.bsky.social · 2h
There is no private substitute for rebuilding the BLS, the Census Bureau, CMS.
aaronsojourner.org Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 3h
Private providers of economic stats vulnerable to political control, small, weak and little incentive to resist
jsphctrl.ft.com Joseph Cotterill @jsphctrl.ft.com · 5h
“Two of China’s private data agencies withheld monthly home sales figures at the government’s behest, people familiar with the matter said… Financial institutions that paid for the figures will still have access to them, provided they keep the data confidential“
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

hshierholz.bsky.social
Heidi Shierholz @hshierholz.bsky.social · 2h
So lawmakers need to repeat one core truth: PAY IS A POLICY CHOICE, and real affordability comes not just from lowering prices where possible, but from raising wages so that working people earn enough to cover the costs of living with dignity and security. 16/

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

hshierholz.bsky.social
Heidi Shierholz @hshierholz.bsky.social · 2h
What policy *can* reliably do is deliver rising incomes—via stronger labor standards, real bargaining rights, full-employment macro policy, and social supports that ensure losing a job doesn’t lead to financial ruin. 13/

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

hshierholz.bsky.social
Heidi Shierholz @hshierholz.bsky.social · 2h
But any policymaker who promises to cut enough prices to “solve” affordability is setting voters up for a major disappointment. The vast majority of prices will never come down because they are set by the actions of millions of private actors. 12/

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

hshierholz.bsky.social
Heidi Shierholz @hshierholz.bsky.social · 2h
These wage-boosting reforms are also hugely popular. Union support is at multi-decade highs, especially among young people. Americans overwhelmingly support higher minimum wages. There’s electoral gold here. 10/

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

hshierholz.bsky.social
Heidi Shierholz @hshierholz.bsky.social · 2h
Policymakers who focus only on prices miss powerful affordability levers. Stronger labor laws, higher minimum wages, macro policy that keeps unemployment low, and a safety net that keeps job loss from being a financial catastrophe—these are all affordability policies. 9/

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

hshierholz.bsky.social
Heidi Shierholz @hshierholz.bsky.social · 2h
For most of the last 45 years, employers (enabled by policy makers) have suppressed the wages of working people so that corporate managers and owners could claim an ever-larger share of the income generated by what workers produce. 6/

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

hshierholz.bsky.social
Heidi Shierholz @hshierholz.bsky.social · 2h
One extremely underappreciated aspect of today’s affordability crisis is that its roots lie not in recent price spikes but in the long-term suppression of workers’ pay. 5/

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

hshierholz.bsky.social
Heidi Shierholz @hshierholz.bsky.social · 2h
But wages—especially for low-wage workers—grew faster than prices from 2019–24. That means affordability *improved* for working people between 2019 and 2024. 3/

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

hshierholz.bsky.social
Heidi Shierholz @hshierholz.bsky.social · 2h
Affordability is dominating the discourse. What I don't like about the conversation is that it focuses almost entirely on prices—as if the only way to make life affordable is to make things cheaper. But affordability is determined by prices *and pay.* 1/

aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 3h
You asked about a position open just to impress investors & the company doesn't intend to hire. That's what I understand as ghost job.

If opening they intend to hire for but are very selective, that's an opening.

In general, measure of quantity, not quality, of job openings.

Reposted by Gerald Friedman

aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 3h
Private providers of economic stats vulnerable to political control, small, weak and little incentive to resist
jsphctrl.ft.com Joseph Cotterill @jsphctrl.ft.com · 5h
“Two of China’s private data agencies withheld monthly home sales figures at the government’s behest, people familiar with the matter said… Financial institutions that paid for the figures will still have access to them, provided they keep the data confidential“
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
China Tells Stats Providers to Halt Home Sales Data Publication
Two of China’s private data agencies withheld monthly home sales figures at the government’s behest, people familiar with the matter said, stoking transparency concerns in a critical sector of the wor...
www.bloomberg.com

Reposted by Valerie Mueller

aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 3h
#EconConf
colinpgreen.bsky.social Colin Green @colinpgreen.bsky.social · 3h
IWAEE 2026 (16th) Meetings - Call for Papers now open!

Submit your papers on education economics via
iwaee.org/new/

Deadline for submissions 27th February

14th to 16th June 2026, Catanzaro, Italy

Keynotes: Esteban Aucejo, Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch and @marirege.bsky.social

#EconSky

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Aaron Sojourner

justinwolfers.bsky.social
Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 3h
We're #20!

(Of 23.)

aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 3h
#EconConf

aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 3h
bsky.app/profile/aaro...
aaronsojourner.org Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · Dec 7
Ghost job openings -- openings posted online to fool investors -- could be real. IDK. If so, they'd harm jobseekers via time wasting.

But they wouldn't influence any official labor-market statistics.

No govt statistics, not even job opening stats, use web posting data.
#ghostjobs #NumbersDay
aaronsojourner.org Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · Dec 7
Got it. So that's about job openings AKA vacancies.

That differs from jobs. All the data release yesterday dealt with jobs or people. None with openings or vacancies.

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

colinpgreen.bsky.social
Colin Green @colinpgreen.bsky.social · 3h
IWAEE 2026 (16th) Meetings - Call for Papers now open!

Submit your papers on education economics via
iwaee.org/new/

Deadline for submissions 27th February

14th to 16th June 2026, Catanzaro, Italy

Keynotes: Esteban Aucejo, Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch and @marirege.bsky.social

#EconSky

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

jillbarshay.bsky.social
Jill Barshay @jillbarshay.bsky.social · 3h
A lot has happened this year. If you'd like a recap of what's happened to education research and statistics, here's my attempt. This might be a good one to listen to on your commute today. (Audio play button below headline. 16 minutes long.) hechingerreport.org/proof-points...
How Trump 2.0 upended education research and statistics in one year
Decades of carefully built infrastructure aimed at improving and tracking how American children learn vanished in an ideological attack
hechingerreport.org

aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 5h
bsky.app/profile/fili...
filipecampante.bsky.social Filipe Campante @filipecampante.bsky.social · 5h
It’s starting to happen…

aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 5h
#TeachEcon
lswinkels.bsky.social Laurens Swinkels @lswinkels.bsky.social · 5h
Free databases on global capital allocation!! Great stuff for macro finance researchers and students to explore!

#EconSky #FinSky #Investing #Macro #Finance #Data
Data — The Global Capital Allocation Project
www.globalcapitalallocation.com

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

lswinkels.bsky.social
Laurens Swinkels @lswinkels.bsky.social · 5h
Free databases on global capital allocation!! Great stuff for macro finance researchers and students to explore!

#EconSky #FinSky #Investing #Macro #Finance #Data
Data — The Global Capital Allocation Project
www.globalcapitalallocation.com

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

jsphctrl.ft.com
Joseph Cotterill @jsphctrl.ft.com · 5h
“Two of China’s private data agencies withheld monthly home sales figures at the government’s behest, people familiar with the matter said… Financial institutions that paid for the figures will still have access to them, provided they keep the data confidential“
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
China Tells Stats Providers to Halt Home Sales Data Publication
Two of China’s private data agencies withheld monthly home sales figures at the government’s behest, people familiar with the matter said, stoking transparency concerns in a critical sector of the wor...
www.bloomberg.com

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

filipecampante.bsky.social
Filipe Campante @filipecampante.bsky.social · 5h
It’s starting to happen…

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

profcjgodlewski.bsky.social
Christophe Godlewski @profcjgodlewski.bsky.social · 6h
📢 Call of Papers of the 42nd International Conference of the French Finance Association (AFFI) 📢
It will be hosted at the Université Clermont Auvergne from June the 1st to the 3rd of 2026.
📅 Deadline for submission: January 15, 2026.
affi2026.sciencesconf.org
42nd International Conference of the French Finance Association (AFFI) - Sciencesconf.org
The 42nd International Conference of the Association Française de Finance (AFFI) will be hosted by the CleRMa laboratory and the IAE Clermont Auvergne – School of Management, France, from June 1st to 3rd, 2026.
affi2026.sciencesconf.org

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

lsebr.bsky.social
LSE Business Review @lsebr.bsky.social · 6h
The exclusion of neurodivergent people is bad for the workforce. Employers who blame stutters on anxiety risk overlooking talent, reinforcing inequity and excluding capable individuals.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessrevi...
Companies are excluding people who stutter from the workplace - LSE Business Review
Over 5o million people around the world stutter. Misunderstanding about the condition leads to stigma and missed opportunities, not least in the workplace.
blogs.lse.ac.uk

aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 17h
What's Kushner's job in the administration?
bsky.app/profile/prch...
prchovanec.bsky.social Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 17h
To coordinate the diplomacy with the money-making.
mmasnick.bsky.social Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 17h
What is Jared Kushner's job in the administration?

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

prchovanec.bsky.social
Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 17h
To coordinate the diplomacy with the money-making.
mmasnick.bsky.social Mike Masnick @mmasnick.bsky.social · 17h
What is Jared Kushner's job in the administration?
onestpress.onestnetwork.com Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 18h
I’d rather question why is Kushner there and why is he laying out a vision? We did not vote him into any gov position nor the senate we voted for has approved his candidacy.

This isn’t a grey zone anymore, it’s 50 shades of grey.

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Aaron Sojourner, Scott A. Imberman , and 2 more

deanbaker13.bsky.social
Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 18h
This is great, now Team Trump is acknowledging that illegal orders were given to kill survivors of the initial strike, the only question is who gave them? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Pete Hegseth denies he gave orders to ‘kill everybody’ on alleged ‘narco-boat’
Defense secretary called reports about his role in strike as ‘fake news’ intended to discredit US military
www.theguardian.com