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Why employers are feeling more pressure to raise pay

Sep 7, 2018
New data from the Labor Department show 201,000 new jobs were created in August, which is about average, month-in, month-out, for the past year.  The unemployment rate was unchanged, at 3.9 percent. We’ve been sitting in that low-unemployment ballpark since mid-spring. Average hourly earnings for private sector workers accelerated in August.  They’re up 2.9 percent compared […]

Wages are rising at a steady clip for construction workers

Sep 7, 2018
And still builders are facing a shortage of skilled and unskilled workers.
A construction laborer works on the site of a new residential building in the Hudson Yards development in 2016 in New York City.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Trump administration leans on companies to do a better job of training workers

Jul 19, 2018
Today, surrounded by executives from some of the country’s best-known companies, President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating the National Council for the American Worker, aimed at developing a stronger workforce. The strategy is heavy on pledges, committees and advisory boards. But who’s going to foot the bill? Click the audio player above to […]

An immigrant's role in the American economy

Apr 6, 2018
This week, President Donald Trump announced he wanted to send National Guard troops to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border. This announcement was made in the midst of a national conversation regarding immigration, legal and otherwise, which includes a push to change immigration laws and reduce the number of legal immigrants in the country. Marketplace Weekend’s Lizzie […]

Trump’s infrastructure plan raises hopes and questions

Feb 14, 2018
The Trump administration’s new infrastructure plan promises a boost in workforce training programs — specifically, 1 million apprentices in two years. But some critics say there aren’t enough specifics in the proposals. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 
Should we really be that threatened by robots?
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

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My Economy: Working as a CFO — chief family officer

Jun 1, 2017
Sherri Messer loves being a stay-at-home mom, but she's nervous about what comes next.
LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images

For military veterans, finding a job is one thing — staying in it is another

May 29, 2017
US companies have done a good job of hiring vets. But the work needs to be meaningful.
New York national guardsmen prepare to meet potential employers at a job fair in New York City.
John Moore/Getty Images

Long and short: women, wages and the workforce

May 19, 2017
Betting on the economy's big and small changes
U.S. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen at the University of Michigan
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan / Flickr