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Women's role in labor force continued to grow in August. Is the trend sustainable?

Sep 4, 2023
The growth was largely driven by working mothers. Flexible and remote jobs help, but the expiration of child care relief funds may hurt.
The growth in the female working population has largely been driven by mothers.
Christian Ender/Getty Images

Small businesses are still struggling to hire. But the situation's improving.

Sep 1, 2023
The good news: The lowest proportion of small businesses since March 2021 reported having trouble hiring. The bad news: It's still 40%.
Forty percent of small businesses reported having trouble filling job openings last month.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Wage growth may be slowing after period of strong gains

Aug 28, 2023
Reports from companies and job search sites indicate that employers are lowering the pay they offer for newly posted jobs.
Small businesses aren’t adding jobs as quickly as they did last year, which is translating into weaker wage growth, noted economist Luke Pardue at Gusto.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Inflation moderates in manufacturing and job market

Aug 2, 2023
As supply chains normalize and labor demand slackens, prices and wages are cooling off.
The easing of inflation is especially visible in vehicle production, said Garrett Nelson at CFRA.
Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images

Student debt help could be a new worker perk with loan payments resuming soon

Jun 16, 2023
It’s still a relatively rare benefit: About 8% of employers in the country offer help with student loan debt.
Employers who offer some sort of benefit that helps workers with student debt see it as part of competing for talent in a tight job market.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Is the U.S. economy really a tale of two job markets?

The "dual labor market" theory paints a picture of two very different job markets in terms of stability, pay, and mobility.
The unemployment rate is at a half-century low, yet many workers are unable to escape poorly paid, precarious jobs. One reason could be that the U.S. job market has evolved into two distinct labor markets—a dual labor market--and workers in each section experience very different economies.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Employment's back to pre-pandemic levels with more than 500,000 new jobs added in July

Aug 5, 2022
There were even job gains in construction and finance, which were expected to slow down. Wages grew again too.
Employers added double the number of jobs economists were expecting in July, with big hiring increases in leisure and hospitality, health care and retail.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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They changed careers during the pandemic. Here's what they learned.

Jun 21, 2022
Even when you're passionate about work, making it your whole identity can be toxic, experts say.
The pandemic forced millions to reevaluate what they wanted out of life — and out of a career.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

What the Beveridge curve tells us about the Fed's path to a “soft landing”

Jun 14, 2022
If you want to understand the challenge of slowing inflation without damaging the labor market, picture a skateboard ramp.
The Beveridge curve appears when you plot the relationship between unfilled jobs and unemployment — it shows how those two variables move together.
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

How is Gen Z managing its money?

Jun 14, 2022
Some graduated into a pandemic and are experiencing high inflation and market volatility. That's changing their approach to their finances.
From left, Tobi Plumpter, Guy DeWeever II, Emanuel Perez and Leah Smith, on the laptop screen, are part of an investing group of young Black professionals.
Nancy Marshall-Genzer/Marketplace