Why Does American Work Feel So Bad?

– USA Today

From USA Today: “The unemployment rate is (and was before November’s presidential election) between 4 and 5% which many economists consider full employment. The U.S. had a record 75 straight months of job growth under President Obama. The poverty rate has decreased from 19% in 1964 to 13.5% in 2015, according to the Census Bureau. So why do American workers feel worse off? Why does lamenting the state of work seem right?”

 

Why Can’t Your Company Just Fix the Gender Wage Gap?

– Bloomberg

The most frequently cited figure when discussing this gender wage gap is that full-time working women in America earn roughly 80 percent of what men do. But that number, though true, doesn’t offer much insight into the underlying social and economic forces generating the inequality, nor why it’s remained relatively unchanged for the past 20 years. It also doesn’t explain how incredibly difficult it is to change the status quo. Bloomberg explores the gender pay gap and its causes.

 

The U.S. Fertility Rate Just Hit a Historic Low. Here’s Why Some Demographers Are Freaking Out.

– The Washington Post

The United States is in the midst of what some worry is a baby crisis. The number of women giving birth has been declining for years and just hit a historic low. If the trend continues — and experts disagree on whether it will — the country could face economic and cultural turmoil. Here’s why.

 

These Tiny Houses Help Minimum Wage Workers Become Homeowners

– Fast Company 

Earners at the bottom of the income ladder face a variety of challenges related to cost of living, but a new program aims to tackle the issue of affordable housing in an innovative way. Through a rent-to-own program, residents pay $1 per square foot in rent each month. For a 250-square-foot house, for example, rent is $250 and after a maximum of seven years, the house can be fully paid off.