Gregory DeFreitas

Professor of Economics, Director of the Center for the Study of Labor and Democracy Hofstra University

  • Long Island NY

Prof. DeFreitas is an expert on labor studies.

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NYS Lags Behind in Payouts to Help Unemployed, Injured Workers

Gregory DeFreitas, professor of economics and director, Center for Study of Labor and Democracy, was interviewed by Newsday for a story on a report from the New York State Comptroller’s Office that shows that the state lags behind others when it comes to cash payouts for several social safety net programs meant to help unemployed or injured workers. Dr. DeFreitas explained that the state’s unemployment benefits system was challenged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The state still owes the federal government $6.2 billion in debt from borrowing funds to pay out a record number of unemployment claims spurred by pandemic job losses, according to the report. “We’re only one of three states in debt like that,” Dr. DeFreitas said. “What that means is we really can’t raise benefits until we repay that $6.2 billion or raise taxes.”

Gregory DeFreitas

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Biography

Gregory DeFreitas is a Professor of Economics and Director of the Labor Studies Degree Program at Hofstra. He is also the Director of the Center for the Study of Labor and Democracy. Before joining Hofstra's faculty, he taught at Barnard College, Columbia University, the University of Toronto, and Cambridge University. He was educated at Stanford, Cambridge, and Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D. Dr. DeFreitas has written widely on job and pay trends, the economics of immigration, earnings inequality, youth unemployment and the New York City economy. And he has testified on these issues before Congressional committees and the New York City Council. He is currently completing a new edition of his award-winning book, "Inequality At Work." He is also the founding editor of the "Regional Labor Review," which focuses on current employment issues in the New York Metropolitan Area.

Industry Expertise

Education/Learning
Financial Services
Business Services
Writing and Editing

Areas of Expertise

Labor Economics
Research Methods
Urban Economics
Microeconomics
African Economic Development
Research Methods
Economics of Immigration
Earnings Inequality
Youth Unemployment
Economics of Small Business
Labor Unions
African Labor Issues
New York City Economy

Accomplishments

Member of the Research Advisory Boards of the Economic Policy Institute (Washington D.C.), the Fiscal Policy Institute (NYC), and the Center for the Study of Working Class Life (SUNY Stony Brook).

His economic consulting services have been used by both government agencies and law firms. He is also a frequent reviewer of articles for economics and labor studies journals and of book manuscripts for several publishers.

Education

Columbia University

Ph.D.

1979

Stanford University

B.A.

1971

Affiliations

  • Member of the Research Advisory Boards of the Economic Policy Institute
  • Member of the Fiscal Policy Institute
  • Member of the Center for the Study of Working Class Life (SUNY Stony Brook)

Media Appearances

The Workforce Saving America's Economy

Newsweek  online

2024-04-08

Professor Gregory DeFreitas was interviewed by Newsweek for the article, “The Workforce Saving America’s Economy.” The article discusses the rise in Americans, ages 65 and older, who are a vital part of the workforce.

While the rising number of older people in the workforce is good for the economy, the bad news is that many of them continue to work, not because they love what they do but because they cannot afford to fully retire.

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Hempstead proposal seeks automatic pay hikes for elected officials pegged to inflation

Newsday  print

2023-12-04

Dr. DeFreitas talked to Newsday recently for a story about Hempstead officials proposing to make their salary increases automatic every January 1.

The raises would be based on inflation with a cap of 4.9%, and would avoid having the board pass a local law every few years.

Automatic raises set by inflation are a rarity, said Dr. DeFreitas. While unionized workers fight to get cost of living increases in their contracts, he’s seen few contracts that actually have them. When inflation outpaces wage growth, as it has in recent years, workers effectively get a pay cut, he explained.

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Too Hot to Work? America's Next Big Labor Battle

Newsweek  online

2023-08-14

Newsweek talked to Dr. DeFreitas for this story focusing on the impact of the summer heat on the economy and the labor force. Between June and July, a utility lineman and USPS carrier are reported to have died in Texas while working in triple digit temperatures.

The article goes on to say that while there is a minimum working temperature in the U.S., there’s no maximum working temperature set by law at a federal level. The CDC makes recommendations for employers to avoid heat stress in the workplace, but these are not legally binding requirements.

“There’s remarkably little in terms of regulation, and of course, given our divided political views in this country—on the right, Republicans in general, are trying to resist more regulation that’s premised on continuing global warming,” Dr. DeFreitas said.

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Research Focus

Research interests include ...

Economics of immigration, earnings inequality, youth unemployment, economics of small business, labor unions, African labor issues, and the New York City economy

Courses

Labor Economics, Urban Economics, Microeconomics, African Economic Development, Research Methods

PRINC ECONOMICS
(BH) LABOR ECONOMICS
(BH) LABOR ECONOMICS
SENIOR SEMINAR IN LABOR STUDIES

Articles

The State of New York Unions 2012

Regional Labor Review

2012

New York has, for nearly two decades, had the highest proportion of its workforce represented by unions of
any state in the country. By 2006, the last year before the latest recession, 24.5 per cent of the state’s
employees were union members – twice the national rate. But the national economic crisis that began in 2008
struck with particular force in heavily unionized industries like construction and manufacturing. And many state
and local governments responded to mounting budget gaps by cutting unionized public sector jobs. What have
been the cyclical impacts of the recession and the still-incomplete recovery on union representation? This paper
explores this and related questions by focusing on New York, in particular the state’s economic engine and
population center, the New York City metropolitan area, centered in New York City and Long Island. We
investigate the major characteristics of and trends in recent unionization in the New York Metropolitan Area
through an empirical analysis of large microdata sets from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population
Surveys...

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At the Epicenter of an Economic Earthquake: New York Confronts the Great Recession

Regional Labor Review

2009

The global economic crisis surged into 2009, setting one depressing record after another. The U.S. economy
shrank by –6.2% in the October-to-December quarter – its steepest decline in over a quarter-century. In those
same months, the country lost 1.7 million jobs. For all of 2008, the job count shrank every month, totaling nearly
3.1 million fewer jobs at year’s end. As of this March, the cumulative losses total 5.1 million jobs, more than in
any other recession since the Great Depression...

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The State of New York Unions 2007

Regional Labor Review

2007

Working people with union representation average much higher wages and benefits today than do otherwise
comparable non-union employees. So, in an age of relatively stagnant real wages and eroding benefits for most American workers, union coverage is an important indicator of a region’s labor market health. This report aims
to provide the first detailed description of the major characteristics of and trends in recent unionization in the
New York Metropolitan Area. The empirical analysis was conducted on large microdata sets from the U.S.
Census Bureau’s Current Population Surveys

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