Mar 04 Watch 6:45 Why homecoming can be particularly hard for female veterans By PBS News Hour In the return to civilian life, many women find that veteran services fall short of their needs. Unemployment rates for female veterans are higher than for other women, as well as for male veterans. Female veterans are at least twice… Continue watching
Feb 22 Watch 3:24 What will Wal-Mart's wage hike mean for workers and the economy? By PBS News Hour Wal-Mart made news this week by announcing that it is raising the wages for its employees above the federal minimum wage of $7.23 an hour to $9 an hour and to $10 an hour next February. To discuss the broader… Continue watching
Feb 20 Will your job exist in the future, or will a robot have replaced you? By Simone Pathe In the long view of history, technological advancement unleashed by the Industrial Revolution has come to be seen as a net positive for economic development and everyone’s well-being, even those workers who initially lost their jobs. There’s reason to wonder,… Continue reading
Feb 06 Why a higher unemployment rate may be good news for the economy By Simone Pathe The unemployment rate increased from 5.6 to 5.7 percent in the first month of 2015, but economists greeted that as good news. Even more encouraging, the economy added 257,000 jobs in January and average hourly earnings were up 12 cents. Continue reading
Jan 16 Unemployment insurance doesn't just help the unemployed By Simone Pathe We often hear how unemployment insurance will affect recipients. But a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that social insurance can have a stabilizing effect on the housing market in times of crisis, not just… Continue reading
Jan 09 We're adding jobs like it's 1999, but American workers just can't get a raise By Simone Pathe The final unemployment report of 2014, released Friday morning, ended a solid year of payroll gains. But despite December's additional 252,000 jobs and the lowest unemployment rate since 2008, wages aren't rising. In fact, average hourly earnings fell in December,… Continue reading
Dec 25 Watch 6:20 Banning 'the box' to give ex-convicts a better chance at finding a job By PBS News Hour Many employers require job applicants to disclose any criminal history, often preventing those with a record from reentering the workforce. But Illinois is one of a number of states working to change this, with a new law prohibiting employers from… Continue watching
Dec 08 Good news for the Affordable Care Act in jobs reports By Dean Baker In the wake of November's jobs report, Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, argues that the Affordable Care Act is allowing more young parents to choose to stay at home with their kids. Continue reading
Dec 05 What's the most reliable indicator of monthly job gains? By Simone Pathe Friday's jobs report showed a surprisingly high 321,000 jobs were added in November. Inspiring even more good cheer, however, average hourly earnings for private nonfarm payrolls actually rose 9 cents last month. Continue reading
Nov 14 Watch Atlantic City shuffles for business as casino luck runs out By PBS News Hour Casinos have been Atlantic City’s lifeblood. Now, they’re bottoming out at alarming rates -- four have already closed this year, leaving thousands unemployed. Economics correspondent Paul Solman explores the gamble that elevated Atlantic City in its prime, and how residents… Continue watching