A caring crisis
As the demand for labor intensifies, workers can choose among jobs that help them capitalize on the economy’s gifts. For workers, this economy is a boon. But for those on the receiving end of some occupations, it is nothing short of painful. Many of society’s employed caregivers—assisting children, the disabled, and older adults—perform physically and emotionally demanding work for little pay. With roughly 1 in 10 of these caring jobs now vacant, community members needing care face the consequences.
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Women are running in more than half of all U.S. House races this November
U.S. House is currently governed by four-fifths men. The odds of reducing that fraction are bolstered by the unprecedented number of women appearing on the midterm ballot this fall. In sum, 284 women are vying to represent a congressional district in the 116th Congress. While these are exciting statistics for anyone who believes that more gender parity would serve our country better, the lopsidedness among Democratic and Republican women candidates is dramatic. Among Republicans, the tally is just 52 women, while Democrats have 185 women seeking to become U.S. Representatives this fall.
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Senator Amy Klobuchar is Minnesota's most beloved politician
Minnesota’s senior U.S. Senator, Amy Klobuchar, is occasionally mentioned as a possible presidential contender. How well-liked is she in her home state? In two recent surveys, Klobuchar received higher ratings than any other politician on the list.
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The Whiter the congressional district, the more likely it is to be represented by a Republican
How might our nation’s continually changing demographics play into the 2018 midterms and beyond? Here are some insights from an analysis of the data: Democrats dominate among “majority minority” districts; Republicans dominate among congressional districts with White majorities. Republicans do well in older districts; Democrats do well in younger districts.
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The United States will soon be bigger, older, and more diverse
The United States population is projected to be bigger, older, and more diverse by 2060, according to the latest Census Bureau projections. How might this country’s composition change between now and then, its 284th birthday? The share of the population who is at least age 65 will increase from about 1 in 7 today to 1 in 4 by 2060. That same year, just over 1 in 3 children are projected be non-Hispanic White. Meanwhile the U.S. population is projected to grow to 404 million, nearly one-quarter larger than today’s 326 million residents.
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Millennials eclipse Boomers as potential voters, but not everywhere
In The Who’s classic song, “My Generation,” Roger Daltrey wails, “I hope I die before I get old.” Personally, I hope GenXers, Millennials, and even the emergent Generation Z will vote before they get old. This year is projected to be the first that there are more Millennials of voting-age than Baby Boomers in the U.S. electorate. However, youth is wasted on the young, and for many, so is the right to vote. Our new nonpartisan Representing US project reveals where each generation’s influence is greatest, assuming they vote.
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College: Who’s going, finishing and finding work afterwards
The manicured greens on the college quads have largely emptied out, as another batch of hopeful graduates has earned their degrees. Which makes it a good time to consider key trends impacting the college experience: Who’s going, who’s graduating, and what sort of labor market are grads entering after tossing their mortarboards in the air? In 10 states and Washington, D.C., recent college grads face lower unemployment rates than the overall U.S. rate. And newly minted English majors face the highest unemployment rates among the 20 most common majors.
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Polling season ahead: What you need to know
Now that we are several states into the primaries, with the mid-term elections nearly upon us, there couldn’t be a better time to review some fundamentals about political polling. Major media outlets and many survey research firms have a strong reputational incentive for investing in solid surveys. Still, some pollsters and media outlets have either partisan motivations, more interest in attention than credibility, or both. We should all beware of polling results that seem too good (or too bad) to be true—especially those that may circulate on social media with little information concerning who did them or how they were done.
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'Ban the Box' may be counterproductive
Just a week after the announcement that the nation’s unemployment rate had hit its lowest level since late 2000, I spent a day immersed in some of the latest and greatest research ultimately aimed addressing labor market weaknesses at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank.
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