Feb 02 Column: We need to fix the social safety net, not shame those who need it By Kristin S. Seefeldt A safety net is only useful if people can access its benefits. Continue reading
Jan 12 Watch 9:49 Is Obama's economic legacy one of missed opportunity or success? By PBS News Hour What is President Obama’s economic legacy? Did his efforts to turn the country around after the 2008 financial crisis constitute a robust recovery, or too little, too late? Economics correspondent Paul Solman assembled a panel of economic experts to discuss… Continue watching
Dec 02 Unemployment rate drops to 4.6 percent -- for the wrong reasons By Kristen Doerer The U.S. economy added 178,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.6 percent. The unemployment rate may have gone down for the wrong reasons, but the economy continues to improve. Continue reading
Nov 04 Watch 5:25 News Wrap: Unemployment rate drops below 5 percent By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Friday, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added a net 161,000 jobs in October, dipping the unemployment rate a tenth of a percent to 4.9. Also, there are guilty verdicts in New Jersey Governor Chris… Continue watching
Oct 18 Watch 4:32 The economy is improving, yet these voters don't trust the data By PBS News Hour Unemployment in the U.S. is at 5 percent, a relative low, and 10 million jobs have been created during the Obama administration. But a new survey finds that many Americans are experiencing high levels of economic anxiety, a factor that… Continue watching
Oct 07 Watch 6:17 News Wrap: U.S. blames Russia for DNC, election hacking By PBS News Hour In our news wrap Friday, the U.S. formally accused the Russian government of hacking Democratic political websites and state voting systems in an effort to interfere with elections. Also, Russia moved to keep its troops in Syria. Lawmakers in Moscow… Continue watching
Sep 13 Income is up, poverty is down, but neither are back at pre-recession levels By Kristen Doerer With improving incomes, 3.5 million people climbed out of poverty in 2015, pushing down the official poverty rate to 13.5 percent. Continue reading
Jul 08 After pitiful May jobs report, the U.S. adds a whopping 287,000 jobs in June By Kristen Doerer The U.S. economy added a whopping 287,000 jobs in June, giving economists and American workers something to smile about. Continue reading
Jun 20 Watch 5:40 Tough times for U.S. towns powered by fossil fuel energy jobs By PBS News Hour Plummeting fuel prices are usually considered a good thing, but in rural Wyoming -- where fossil fuels like coal employ 10 percent of the state’s private sector workforce -- they can spell disaster. For the people of Gillette, dropping coal… Continue watching
May 29 Watch 3:37 Drug tests present major hurdle for employers By PBS News Hour As the unemployment rate drops across the country, employers are running into another problem – finding potential job candidates who will take and pass drug tests. Even though the country is amid an opioid epidemic, employers say marijuana has been… Continue watching