Women have made significant strides toward equitable representation in the highest paying occupations in the United States. According to a recent publication by Pew Research Center, in 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, 35% of jobs in the ten highest paying occupations were held by women as compared to only 13% in 1980. In 2021, women were 40% of practicing lawyers (14% in 1980), 26% of actuaries (25% in 1980), and 29% of chief executives and public administrators (data not available for 1980).

It’s no secret that as children grow up they move in and out of stages of proclaimed independence. Seeking or receiving help from parents oscillates between being necessary when we are young, an embarrassment when we hit the pre-teens, and a true comfort when we become young adults. This econ quiz will delve into one of many facets of parental aid: financial.

This week’s econ quiz will take a closer look at consumer spending, for the nation’s largest consumer segment: Millennials.

Americans over age 65 are wealthier, healthier, and more educated than those in previous generations. This good fortune has coincided with societal changes that promote working longer. The age at which one can access social security has moved from 65 to 67. Most retirement plans replaced defined benefit pensions, which incentivize retirement at a certain age, with defined contribution plans, such as 401k or 403b plans, which incentivize longer participation in the workforce.

A recent Pew Research Center survey respondents were asked how likely they were to tip in a variety of scenarios. It’s probably not a surprise that 92% of Americans “always” or “often” tip while eating at a sit-down restaurant. The second most agreed upon tipping scenario was getting a haircut, with 78% of Americans “always” or “often” tipping.

On the heels of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the phrases “Great Resignation” and “quiet quitting” became part of our vocabulary. The first term described the unexpected churn in the labor market as quit rates hit a 20-year high in the spring of 2022. The second phrase has taken on many different meanings.

The Survey of Consumer Finances has some interesting information about how U.S. households accumulate and hold both wealth and debt. Today’s quiz focuses on non-financial assets held by U.S. families.

(Image Source: Casey Horner / Unsplash) September 2023 A recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that over the past 30 years, new businesses have been getting smaller and smaller. Specifically, the number of jobs that companies report upon opening has been decreasing. The informal term for this is “birth weight” — the […]

During the second half of the 20th century, women’s participation in the labor force increased rapidly, rising from about 34% in 1950 and peaking at around 60% in 1999 as educational and career opportunities for women began to open up in the second half of the 20th century.

According to a recent report by Pew Research Center, people who are self-employed are more likely to report higher levels of job satisfaction and lower levels of job-related stress. In a February 2023 survey fielded by the organization, 65% of those who were self-employed reported that their jobs were fulfilling and enjoyable all the time or most of the time. In comparison, 50% of respondents who were not self-employed reported that their jobs were enjoyable and 47% reported their jobs were fulfilling, all or most of the time.

Wisconsin hasn’t always been synonymous with dairy. Cash crops, wheat in particular, required less upfront investment than dairy, making crop farming more attractive to 19th century immigrants who needed to quickly settle and raise a crop before winter set in. Wisconsin might have been called “America’s Wheatland,” if wheat rust disease and chinch bugs had not worked hand-in-hand with depleted soil and volatile wheat markets to make wheat farming less profitable.

Is teleworking from home a pandemic-related fad, or a trend that is that is here to stay? Recent reports from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provide some interesting insights.