For small businesses, a tight labor market means workers are in short supply

Apr 10, 2018
Each month, the National Federation of Independent Business asks its members questions about how easy it is to find and hire workers. And the latest responses indicate small business hiring is up, but that it’s also harder than ever for those employers to find people to fill the jobs they have available. So what options […]

What role do immigrants play in U.S. labor force?

Apr 5, 2018
The percentage of immigrant workers has increased since 2000. President Trump and many congressional Republicans want to reverse that trend.
Candidates for US citizenship take the oath of allegiance during a Naturalization Ceremony for new US citizens at the City Hall of Jersey City in New Jersey on Feb. 22, 2017.
KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images

Low-wage workers seeing higher paychecks

Mar 9, 2018
The economy is strong, the labor market is tighter, and that’s giving all workers a bigger paycheck. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

Productivity is poised to rise. Finally.

Feb 21, 2018
Labor productivity, a measure of how efficient workers are, hasn’t been improving in recent years. That has caused worry among economists, because worker productivity has a big impact on economic growth. Well, times may be a-changing. The McKinsey Global Institute is out with a new report that says this era of low productivity growth might […]

Private sector wages and benefits are on the upswing, but economists caution celebrating

Jan 31, 2018
We are finally starting to see some signs that the tight labor market is pushing up wages. New numbers out today from the Department of Labor show wages and salaries in the private sector are up 2.8 percent from this time last year. That doesn’t leave too much extra cash for workers once you factor […]

How much will immigration reduction impact the U.S. labor market?

Jan 30, 2018
Ahead of SOTU Trump Administration puts forth DACA framework

With low unemployment, employers strapped for workers may find it hard to add jobs

Jan 5, 2018
The latest unemployment number for December comes out today (Friday, Jan. 5th). With the ranks of the unemployed declining in 2017, it’s getting harder for employers to add jobs and find qualified candidates to fill them. So some employers are starting to settle for candidates they might have overlooked in the past. Maybe employers are […]

For public good, not for profit.

Another sign of the improving economy: a drop in part-time jobs

Dec 11, 2017
Since November of last year, the number of involuntary part-time workers dropped by 858,000.
Companies like Target are offering free college to its workers.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

How hurricanes could distort September jobs numbers

Oct 6, 2017
The September jobs report from the Labor Department comes out today, and hurricanes Harvey and Irma are likely to show up in the numbers in different ways. In Texas and Florida, where the hurricanes did significant damage, employees couldn’t get to work, workplaces shut down, job interviews got cancelled. All that could make job-creation numbers […]
Resident Mirian Medina stands on her property about two weeks after Hurricane Maria swept through the island on October 5, 2017 in San Isidro, Puerto Rico.
Mario Tama / Getty Images

In raising its minimum wage to $11, Target aims to retain workers

Sep 26, 2017
Minneapolis-based Target is raising its minimum wage by a buck, to $11 an hour starting in October. That will apply to the seasonal workers the company is trying to hire right now to staff stores and online fulfillment centers for the holidays. By the end of 2020, the company said its minimum wage will reach […]