Matt is the climate analyst for CEPR. He holds an MA in sociology from George Mason University; a BA in communications and a minor in political science from the University of California, Fullerton; and certifications in data journalism and data science from the European Journalism Centre and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, respectively. He’s authored opinion pieces for the Los Angeles Times and The Hill and has been interviewed by various California radio stations, such as KPCC and KWMR, on climate and housing issues.
Matt also hosts a podcast called Sociology Ruins Everything.
Before working with CEPR, Matt worked as a web communications specialist for SEIU-UHW in California and at various news organizations.
All from Matt Sedlar
Little to No Growth in Mining and Logging and Manufacturing as Slump Continues into April
Employment in construction, manufacturing, and mining and logging increased by 34,000 jobs in April, which sounds positive until you separate the data by sector. Growth in the last month was driven largely by construction, with manufacturing growth falling short for the third month in a row and mining and logging seeing a decrease of 3,000 […]
Manufacturing Job Growth Stalls For Second Month in a Row
Employment in construction, manufacturing, and mining and logging increased by 12,000 jobs in March. This is a bump up from a gloomy February but nowhere near as strong as prior months. In fact, the average over the last three months (January, February, March) was 21,330 compared with 43,000 in the prior three months (October, November, […]
February Marked by Job Loss and Wild Weather
While overall job growth in February 2019 was slow, employment in construction, manufacturing and mining and logging actually decreased by 0.14 percent or 29,800 jobs. States in the Midwest and West regions experienced the biggest drops, with decreases of 21,500 and 17,400 jobs, respectively. The only Census region that saw increases was the South, with […]
Manufacturing Employment Increased Under Trump but Lags Prerecession Levels
Employment in construction, manufacturing and mining and logging increased by 0.4 percent or 74,000 in December of 2018. Forty-one states and the District of Columbia gained jobs in these “blue collar sectors.” Texas saw the largest gains for the month, adding 10,900 jobs, an increase of 0.6 percent. Next was Florida at +7,600 jobs (+0.8 […]
California Leads the Nation in Blue Collar Job Growth in October
The 20,859,000 blue collar jobs in the US in October were 13.9 percent of the total nonfarm jobs in the United States, up from 13.7 percent in October 2017. This was an increase of 67,000 jobs (0.3 percent) in construction, manufacturing and mining and logging since September. Since October of 2017, employment in these industries […]
Upward Revision Results in 14 Consecutive Months of Manufacturing Growth at the National Level
Support for mining activities continues to support mining and logging growth.
Several States See Declines in Manufacturing Jobs
Nationally, employment in the blue collar sectors grew by 26,000 in August, an increase of 0.1 percent compared with July. The total number of jobs in these sectors has increased by 789,200 (3.9 percent) since August of 2017. Despite this growth, this is still 5.0 percent lower than the total number of blue collar jobs […]
The Cost of Coal
At a recent rally in West Virginia, Donald Trump expressed preference for coal-derived energy over renewables by labeling wind farms as avian killing fields. Trump’s concern for wildlife is unconvincing. To loosen restrictions on the fossil fuel industry his administration has pushed deregulatory efforts to mute climate change actions by rolling back car emissions standards […]
Labor Day is a Reminder that ‘More Jobs’ Should Mean ‘Better Jobs’
On June 10, 1872, an estimated 150,000 workers marched through New York City to celebrate the end of a three-month, statewide strike. The purpose of the strike? The eight-hour workday. Across the country, similar victories soon followed. In the battle for an eight-hour workday, workers faced opposition at every step. Employers reduced wages to accommodate […]
Job Gains in Manufacturing Leads Increase in Blue Collar Employment
Blue collar employment grew by 0.3 percent in July as the nation added 52,000 jobs in construction, manufacturing, and mining and logging. The number of jobs in these industries was 13.9 percent of total nonfarm jobs in the United States last month. This is a slight increase from July of 2017 when these jobs were […]
