Sep 05 Noisy data aside, the big question from August's jobs report is who's dropping out of the workforce? By Simone Pathe The economy added a fewer than expected 142,000 jobs last month -- the lowest monthly gain of the year. But the unemployment rate ticked down to 6.1 percent, which is good news, right? Maybe not. That all depends on who's… Continue reading
Sep 04 No boss, no office, no problem! The rise of the freelance workforce By Simone Pathe Thirty-four percent of the American workforce, or 53 million workers, are freelancers, according to a survey commissioned by the Freelancers Union released Thursday. But just how independent those freelancers are depends on what type of work they're doing and whether… Continue reading
Sep 04 Millennials are changing jobs at a less frequent rate than prior generations By Dave Sloan The job hopping that has become synonymous with Millennials is a false depiction of the current predicament that they find themselves in, according to the Census Bureau. In fact, the Washington Post reports, the number of young people changing… Continue reading
Sep 04 Jobless claims up slightly By Simone Pathe Initial jobless claims rose by 4,000 for the week ending August 30, bringing the total for the week to only slightly higher than the projected 300,000. Continue reading
Sep 04 Why it's not a beautiful day in the neighborhood By Christian Smith, Hilary Davidson Giving -- not just money -- but time and talent, too, is good for us. And yet, three-quarters of Americans don't volunteer. That's what Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson call "The Paradox of Generosity." In the second post adapted from… Continue reading
Sep 03 Are Americans a stingy lot of people? By Christian Smith, Hilary Davidson Given the popularity of the Ice Bucket Challenge this summer, you might think Americans are a fairly generous group. Indeed, more than $100 million has been raised for the ALS Association. But although we enjoy, and benefit from, giving money… Continue reading
Sep 03 Why so many college grads are highly-educated, well placed, and going nowhere By Kirk Carapezza, Mallory Noe-Payne, WGBH Three years ago, sociologists Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa found that college students learn little while in school. Their book, Academically Adrift, shocked the academy and provoked angry responses. Now, the two provocateurs are back. Their sequel is called Aspiring… Continue reading
Sep 02 How one family can collect 8 different Social Security benefits By Laurence Kotlikoff Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff explains how a husband, wife and son could boost their $1 million lifetime Social Security benefits with a different collection strategy that adds one more benefit to the mix. Continue reading
Sep 01 Watch U.S. optimism lags behind economic gains, study finds By PBS News Hour For many months now, the number of new jobs created has risen and the jobless rate has fallen substantially. But despite what appears to be a slow and steady recovery, a new study finds that 71 percent of Americans believe… Continue watching
Sep 01 Watch More part-time workers suffer instability, long hours to make ends meet By PBS News Hour As employers seek more control over labor costs, the number of part-time jobs has soared in the post-great recession period. But increasingly erratic work schedules -- an attempt to squeeze maximum efficiency from every part-timer -- has taken a toll… Continue watching