Despite the pandemic, wage growth held firm for most U.S. workers, with little effect on inequality
Earnings overall have held steady through the pandemic in part because lower-wage workers experienced steeper job losses.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Earnings overall have held steady through the pandemic in part because lower-wage workers experienced steeper job losses.
Here’s how the COVID-19 recession is affecting labor force participation and unemployment among American workers a year after its onset.
Black and Hispanic workers remain underrepresented in STEM jobs compared with their share of the U.S. workforce.
Over the past 50 years, the highest-earning 20% of U.S. households have steadily brought in a larger share of the country’s total income.
About four-in-ten unemployed workers had been out of work for more than six months in February 2021, about double the share in February 2020.
Nearly one-in-five middle-income families report receiving unemployment benefits in 2020.
The shift has been most notable in jobs that prioritize analytical skills, such as science and math, or fundamental skills, such as writing.
About a year since the coronavirus recession began, there are some signs of improvement in the U.S. labor market, and Americans are feeling somewhat better about their personal finances than they were early in the pandemic.
In 2019, the share of American children living in poverty was on a downward trajectory, reaching record lows across racial and ethnic groups.
As of the third quarter of 2021, 50.3% of U.S. adults 55 and older said they were out of the labor force due to retirement.
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