When the stock market broke the 10,000 point barrier a few weeks ago, many investors celebrated. Economists have started to talk about the end of the "Great Recession." But many Americans can't see what all the enthusiasm is about.
The poverty rate rose last year to 13.2%, the highest level since 1997, said a report released Thursday.
On Friday, the federal minimum wage rises for the third year in a row, sparking the perennial argument among economists: Will it help workers at the bottom of the ladder, or will it kill their jobs?
The House on Thursday passed a $6.4 billion school modernization bill that would commit funds for the construction and update of more energy-efficient school buildings.
If you want to know why the current spike in unemployment is as painful as it is, look no further than the problems in the housing and stock markets.
As President Obama warned of "catastrophe" if the government doesn't spend more than $800 billion to recharge the failing economy, some lawmakers equated the measure to "theft."
The hemorrhaging of American jobs accelerated at a record pace at the end of 2008, bringing the year's total job losses to 2.6 million or the highest level in more than six decades.
The Big Three automakers' troubles are wreaking havoc on state and local budgets far beyond the Rust Belt. And a collapse of even one of Detroit's car manufacturers would hit governments while they are down.
Home prices fell in August for the 25th consecutive month and prices in 10 major markets plunged a record 17.7% year over year, according to a key index of real estate values released Tuesday.
The economic crisis has taken a severe toll on the nation's workforce. But while much of the discussion centers around layoffs and unemployment, a growing number of Americans are becoming under-employed - struggling to pay their bills on a smaller salary, or completely giving up on finding any work.
When the stock market broke the 10,000 point barrier a few weeks ago, many investors celebrated. Economists have started to talk about the end of the "Great Recession." But many Americans can't see what all the enthusiasm is about.
The poverty rate rose last year to 13.2%, the highest level since 1997, said a report released Thursday.
On Friday, the federal minimum wage rises for the third year in a row, sparking the perennial argument among economists: Will it help workers at the bottom of the ladder, or will it kill their jobs?
The House on Thursday passed a $6.4 billion school modernization bill that would commit funds for the construction and update of more energy-efficient school buildings.
If you want to know why the current spike in unemployment is as painful as it is, look no further than the problems in the housing and stock markets.
As President Obama warned of "catastrophe" if the government doesn't spend more than $800 billion to recharge the failing economy, some lawmakers equated the measure to "theft."
The hemorrhaging of American jobs accelerated at a record pace at the end of 2008, bringing the year's total job losses to 2.6 million or the highest level in more than six decades.
The Big Three automakers' troubles are wreaking havoc on state and local budgets far beyond the Rust Belt. And a collapse of even one of Detroit's car manufacturers would hit governments while they are down.
Home prices fell in August for the 25th consecutive month and prices in 10 major markets plunged a record 17.7% year over year, according to a key index of real estate values released Tuesday.
The economic crisis has taken a severe toll on the nation's workforce. But while much of the discussion centers around layoffs and unemployment, a growing number of Americans are becoming under-employed - struggling to pay their bills on a smaller salary, or completely giving up on finding any work.
The number of Americans without health insurance decreased last year as more people signed up for government coverage, while the nation's median income rose slightly to $50,233, new government figures show.
For most of the past decade, the economy grew much stronger - but middle-class Americans had little to show for it.
Hope Now has helped more than 2 million at-risk borrowers stay in their homes during the past 13 months, according to numbers released by the coalition on Wednesday.
The high price of gas is taking a financial toll on an increasing number of American households, according to a poll released Friday.
Minimum-wage laws around the U.S. are a patchwork of federal and state legislation. On Thursday, the federal minimum wage rose to $6.55 per hour, but the change only affects workers in 26 states (plus Washington, D.C.). The remaining 24 states already have state minimum wages set above $6.55 per hour.
About 2 million Americans get a raise Thursday as the federal minimum wage rises 70 cents. The bad news: Higher gas and food prices are swallowing it up, and some small businesses will pass the cost of the wage hike to consumers
The national minimum wage went up 70 cents on Thursday as the second of three planned increases mandated by Congress took effect.
When President Bush announced that the government would begin distributing economic stimulus checks on Monday, he did so in the shadow of ever-rising gas prices.
Foreclosure filings jumped 57% in March compared with the same month last year and rose 5% versus February, as the nation's housing market continues to deteriorate.
Poor and middle-class families are entering the recession in a precarious situation due in part to declining or stagnant income growth, a study released Wednesday has found.
Tax rebates are the centerpiece of the government's plan to stimulate the economy, but many Americans are planning to put the money in the bank or use it to pay off debt, according to a survey released Monday.
OK, so maybe not all your tax rebate, but a big chunk of it.
Most economists agree that the stimulus package recently passed by Congress will boost the economy.
The economic expansion that began six years ago has failed to benefit most workers, according to a report from the liberal Economic Policy Institute, released Monday.
It's not just low wages, but environmental hazards and labor-law violations that afflict workers on the bottom rungs. Here's a look at three of the worst places to work right now
The first minimum wage increase in 10 years takes effect Tuesday, to $5.85 from $5.15 an hour, with two more steps over the next two years taking base pay for millions of workers to $7.25.
These are some of the facts from tonight's broadcast that you might find interesting.
Dear Annie: My sister, who is in her late 30s (as am I), is a super-successful salesperson, one of only two women on an 18-person sales staff. She recently found out that she and her sole female colleague make about 20% less than the men, even though both women are highly productive "stars." I think she owes it to herself to talk to her boss about this, but she says she's satisfied with her current pay and doesn't want to "rock the boat." Should I butt out and mind my own business? What do you think? - Just Cathy
In the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress, the House passed a minimum wage bill that raises the federal minimum from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour and the Senate may follow suit this week, to the dismay of some small business owners.
The House of Representatives passed the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 by a wide margin on Wednesday afternoon.
Enforcement deficit
Median income for working age households fell a half percent last year, according to the Economic Policy Institute, which means getting a raise is about as hard as it's ever been.
Working for The Man may never have been an overpaid joy, but it has offered a decent way to make a living.
The average American household earned more money last year than in 2004, according to a Census Bureau report released Tuesday.
Over the past 40 years, those at the top of the money food chain have seen their wealth grow at a rate far outpacing everyone else, according to a new analysis released by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research group.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The top dogs at large companies make big bucks, no surprise. But it's always a little jolting to see just how big those bucks are relative to the paycheck of the average Joe.
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that income inequality in the U.S. -- after 30-plus years of steadily increasing -- may be decreasing. The bad news is why that trend is reversing. I...
You may know the scene from the bitterly satiric 1976 movie "Network:" The CEO of a big media conglomerate, Arthur Jensen (played by Ned Beatty), calls raving anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) into a darkened boardroom for a tongue-lashing.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - You don't need to be a statistician to realize that economic growth in the past 20 years hasn't lifted everyone's boat equally.
Companies may like the idea of passing higher costs on to their customers, but they won't get far if people don't have more money to spend.
When the June jobs report comes out Friday, the first number traders and investors will react to is the payroll number: how many jobs the economy generated last month.
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose last week to 327,000, the government said Thursday, well above Wall Street forecasts for 310,000.
While the shift of manufacturing jobs from developed nations to cheaper labor markets has been well documented, a major study of the forces shaping the world economy is now acknowledging outsourcing's effects on the service sector.
The labor market may not be roaring ahead, but it is finally creating jobs at a respectable pace -- that much is clear from the government's December employment report.
Being poor doesn't mean being jobless, said a recent Challenger, Gray & Christmas report that found more and more working families are living at or below the poverty line.
Being poor doesn't mean being jobless, said a recent Challenger, Gray & Christmas report that found more and more working families are living at or below the poverty line.
The domestic debate this election season has centered on job creation, with both candidates using Labor Department statistics to support their own arguments. But now that the economy has been added nearly 2 million jobs since last summer, economists are looking critically at the quality of these new jobs, to determine whether they are paying less than the ones we've lost.
Revised changes to overtime rules proposed by the Bush administration will still fail to protect overtime pay for 6 million workers, according to a new study.
From the campaign trail to American kitchen tables this summer, one topic of constant attention is the job market. Elections often turn on the state of the economy, but the creation of jobs has already become an intense focus for both parties -- even before the political conventions.
From the campaign trail to American kitchen tables this summer, one topic of constant attention is the job market. Elections often turn on the state of the economy, but the creation of jobs has already become an intense focus for both parties -- even before the political conventions.
Only a small portion of jobs lost in the first quarter were due to outsourcing of work overseas, according to a government report released Thursday that's already being scrutinized by Bush administration critics.
If there's one thing that has kept this bull market from swelling into a ready-to-pop speculative bubble, it is the decade's astonishing growth in corporate profits. Even if it's really mutual fund...
A generation or so ago, when everyone liked Ike and loved Lucy, the family's lone TV and the American dream came in simple black and white. A house was central to the dream, but central air wasn't....
IN THE GALAXY of Washington think tanks, the archconservative Heritage Foundation is eclipsing its rivals. From privatization to Star Wars, Heritage prescriptions have become Reagan Administration ...
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