Sean Higgins is a research fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute specializing in labor and employment issues. As journalist, he covered the intersection of politics and economics for two decades, having been senior writer for the Washington Examiner, Washington correspondent for Investor’s Business Daily and a contributor to publications like Reason and National Review Online.”
Authored by Sean Higgins
News
Jobs numbers drop in July, May and June’s numbers revised downward: CEI analysis
The new jobs report brings bad news to the labor market, with a net loss of 23,000 jobs for July and a downward…
Economy adds 57,000 jobs in June; labor market continues to stabilize: CEI analysis
The labor market gained 57,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.2 percent. The likelihood of an interest rate…
Labor-supported bill would protect unions, force workers into unions they never voted for
Twenty Republican House members joined their Democratic colleagues in passing the Faster Labor Contracts Act last night. The bill would fast-track union negotiations, allowing…
Blog
The ‘no hire, no fire’ era is starting to crack
- By: Sean Higgins
Families gathering around the barbeque next Monday to celebrate the national day off from work will probably be grilling more hot dogs and cheap…
When driverless vehicles are attacked, look for the union label
- By: Sean Higgins
Self-driving cars are coming to major cities, and one group in particular is not happy about this: unions. An effort to bring self-driving vehicles…
The AI Jobs apocalypse gets postponed, as CEI predicted
- By: Sean Higgins
The prophesies of doom that artificial intelligence would destroy jobs have been put on hold recently. Businesses, including the ones that use AI technology,…
Op-Eds/Articles
The Center Square
Don’t panic – Labor Day will still be around in the future
- By: Sean Higgins
This Labor Day, instead of celebrating work, many Americans may be worrying about how much longer they will even have jobs in the age…
DC Journal
Trump, Vance help rail unions put the brakes on automation
- By: Sean Higgins
The White House successfully pressured House Republicans into adding the Railway Safety Act — legislation once co-sponsored by Vice President JD Vance as a senator — to the…
DC Journal
Point: AI Won’t Take Our Jobs Away
- By: Sean Higgins
For an alternate viewpoint, see “Counterpoint: Trump’s Extreme Anti-Labor Policies Could Determine the Effect of AI on Labor.” Read enough headlines about artificial…
Studies
Don’t Panic: A Skeptic’s Guide to the AI Jobs Doomsday
- By: Sean Higgins
As technology advances it has periodically bred the fear that progress will destroy jobs and livelihoods. History teaches that these fears are usually misplaced.
The Forgotten History of the Wagner Act
- By: Sean Higgins
Introduction President Joe Biden on April 26, 2021, announced the creation of a special Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment. The purpose of…
The Protect the Right to Organize Act Empowers Unions at Workers’ Expense
- By: Sean Higgins
View the Full Document as PDF The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act is touted by its supporters as advancing…
Citations
Capitol Research Center
American Compass vs AFL-CIO battle isn’t what it appears to be
- By: Sean Higgins
Capitol Research Center cited CEI’s expert on Labor & Employment The language of the title is notable, and evidence of where the…
Minimum-wage hikes affecting hourly workers in 19 states
- By: Sean Higgins
The Washington Times cited CEI’s expert on labor’s minimum wage Sean Higgins, an analyst at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, said U.S.
The Washington Times
Record-high 203 million people shopped over Thanksgiving weekend, says National Retail Federation
- By: Sean Higgins
The Washington Times cited CEI’s expert on The Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis “The good news is that inflation hasn’t deterred people that…
Regulatory Comments
Competitive Enterprise Institute Letter Supporting OPM’s Proposed Rule on Improving Performance, Accountability, and Responsiveness in the Civil Service
- By: Sean Higgins
Competitive Enterprise Institute Letter in Support of OPM proposed rule “Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service” On behalf of the…
Competitive Enterprise Institute Letter in Support of DOT Request to Reduce Regulatory Burden
- By: Sean Higgins
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), I respectfully submit the following comments in response to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) request for…
CEI Letter Opposing the Department of Labor’s Proposed Changes to the Davis-Bacon Act
- By: Sean Higgins
Via Regulations.Gov Hon. Marty Walsh Secretary of Labor United States Department of Labor 200 Constitution Ave NW Washington, DC…
Podcast Episodes
Questioning the AI Jobs Doomsday with Sean Higgins
This week we cover making home appliances great again, fighting price controls on healthcare, research on AI-fueled entrepreneurship, and a big new event on administrative...
Going into Labor with Sean Higgins
- By: Sean Higgins
This week we talk about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s legal fate, rising economic might in India, terrible federal policy on sugar, and how the...