Jul 22 Watch 7:35 Poverty-stricken past and present in the Mississippi Delta By PBS News Hour Rich in soil, music and culture, the Mississippi Delta is one of those unique regions that has come to hold a special place in the American imagination. But in terms of economic mobility and poverty, this stretch of land is… Continue watching
Jun 10 Watch 7:25 In today’s economy, even two-income families struggle to make ends meet By PBS News Hour Aaron and Mary Murray are middle-class Americans, but they don’t feel like it: though the two teachers make a combined $90,000 a year, they still live paycheck-to-paycheck. Even something as mundane as a stranger accidentally sideswiping their car can put… Continue watching
May 12 Watch 4:24 There’s less middle in the middle class as income inequality grows, Pew analysis finds By PBS News Hour The middle class has taken center stage in this election cycle, and it turns out there are increasingly fewer Americans who qualify. A new Pew analysis finds their ranks have shrunk since 2000 and that in at least 160 metro… Continue watching
Mar 14 Watch What job growth? Voters remain pessimistic about the economy By PBS News Hour This year’s election has been dominated by economic anxiety, though the nation’s unemployment rate is at its post-recession lowest and there have been six consecutive years of job growth. As a joint project of the NewsHour, American Public Media’s Marketplace… Continue watching
Mar 14 Introducing ‘How the Deck Is Stacked’ By Deborah Clark, Raney Aronson-Rath and Sara Just In the run-up to the November elections and continuing through the presidential inauguration in January 2017, we at APM’s Marketplace, FRONTLINE and PBS NewsHour bring you “How the Deck Is Stacked” -- a series of collaborative, multiplatform reports investigating this… Continue reading
Mar 14 Trump says he’ll bring jobs back to America. Economists are skeptical By Paul Wiseman, Associated Press Trump's assault on trade deals seems to be winning politics. But his analysis of how trade hurts American workers is flawed, and as president, he would struggle to deliver on his promises. Continue reading
Mar 04 Our intractable problem: wages By Kristen Doerer The U.S. economy added 242,000 jobs in February, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9 percent. Wages, however, fell. Continue reading
Feb 29 Column: Why sunny views of the economy are misguided By John Komlos In spite of GDP growth, in spite of earnings growth, in spite of job creation, the economy can only be characterized as Krugman has, as a “sour economy.”… Continue reading
Feb 05 Unemployment is down to 4.9 percent. So why are wages rising so slowly? By Kristen Doerer The U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate inched down to 4.9 percent. Wages may have risen by 12 cents in January, but over the year, wages have only increased 2.5 percent. Continue reading