Recessions & Recoveries

short readsJul 15, 2014

At the statehouse, ideological press tries to fill a void in news coverage

When the bottom fell out of the news industry during the recession, many newspapers cut their reporting power in statehouse press rooms.
short readsJul 1, 2014

Wage gap between high and low earners rising most among Hispanics

The earnings gap in the nation’s workforce has widened in recent years as the pay of high-wage workers has risen and the pay of low-wage workers has fallen, but Hispanics may be feeling the impact more acutely than others.
short readsJun 26, 2014

Falloff in births slows shift to a majority-minority youth population

The sharp decline in U.S. births after the onset of the Great Recession—especially among Hispanics—has slowed the nation’s transition to a majority-minority youth population.
short readsJun 23, 2014

Five years in, recovery still underwhelms compared with previous ones

The current economic recovery, which hit the five-year mark this month, has underperformed other recent expansions that have lasted at least as long.
short readsJun 6, 2014

Chart of the Week: How U.S. regained all its lost jobs, but still fell behind

The U.S. finally has more jobs than it did before the Great Recession, but that’s not nearly enough to keep pace with the growing population.
reportMay 5, 2014

Midterm Election Indicators Daunting for Democrats

With the midterm elections six months away, Democrats are burdened by an uneven economic recovery and a stubbornly unpopular health care law. Perhaps equally important, Barack Obama’s political standing is in some respects weaker than it was at a comparable point in the 2010 campaign, which ended with the Republicans gaining a majority in the […]
short readsApr 4, 2014

Chart of the week: Still deep in the jobs hole

At current rates of job growth, employment won’t reach its pre-recession level for more than five years.
short readsFeb 19, 2014

Fed report says household borrowing is rebounding from Great Recession

Outstanding household debt increased $241 billion during last October-December, the biggest quarterly jump since 2007.
short readsDec 27, 2013

Chart of the Week: Where the loss of unemployment benefits will hit

A map from the Washington Post shows the states where the expiration of unemployment benefits on Saturday will have the most impact.
short readsDec 10, 2013

Regulators approve Volcker Rule, but public is split on financial regulation

About half of Americans think the government hasn’t gone far enough in regulating financial institutions following the 2007-08 financial crisis.