The US youth unemployment rate jumped from 6.6% in 2023 to 10.4% in 2025.

Over 1.9 million Americans—more than a quarter of those unemployed—have been classified as 'long-term' unemployed in a given month in 2026, meaning they've been out of work for at least 27 weeks.

Explore an interactive tool that provides regularly updated information on labor market outcomes of recent college graduates.

See which college degrees had the highest unemployment rates as of May 2025, with degrees in anthropology, physics, and computer engineering ranking high on the list.

AI investment may be the next major economic bubble

A video examines the massive surge in AI spending—forecast to hit $500B by 2026—and how this may be propping up a fragile US economy. Experts warn that if AI investment slows or under-delivers, the consequences could be felt in markets, jobs and growth.

Teen depression levels jumped during the pandemic

US government data published in 2025 but gathered from August 2021 through August 2023 indicated that depression prevalence among teens aged 12 to 19 was at 19.2%. It was even higher among females of that age group—26.5%

The US unemployment rate soared to over 24% during the Great Depression, the highest in recorded history.

Explore an interactive tool that reveals why Americans are unemployed—almost 30% of unemployed Americans ages 25 to 54 cited being laid off as the reason for their unemployment, for instance.

Generative AI may automate nearly 10% of tasks in the US economy.

US depression rates at historic high among adults

More than 18% of US adults reported that they currently have or are being treated for depression in both 2024 and 2025. In the 2025 survey, more than 11,000 adults were surveyed. The numbers have ticked upward since 2015—by about 8 percentage points—with most of the increase occurring from the 2020 pandemic onward.

The unemployment rate is calculated using a monthly survey that the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses to identify those who are employed or actively looking for work.

View a map of AI adoption rates around the world through Q1 2026, led by the United Arab Emirates (70.1%), Singapore (63.4%), and Norway (48.6%).

The US had roughly 1.6 million minimum wage workers as of 2021

Typically, minimum wage workers are young. They’re not only more likely to be a woman than a man, but also more likely to be single than married.

In 2025, the US credit rating was downgraded over concerns about the debt-to-GDP ratio.

See how the median annual US salary varies by age group, with the overall median annual salary being $62,192 as of 2025.

Unemployment is generally sorted into four different types: frictional, cyclical, structural, and institutional.

COVID-19's shock to employment rates sparked some economists to fear deflation

COVID-19 simultaneously disrupted the supply chain and the labor market. Since the unemployment rate had hit record highs, some economists were worried that the supply chain would recover before the labor market. If that had happened, businesses would have been producing goods, but no one would have been able to buy them because they wouldn't have the disposable income to do so.

In a survey of US Gen Z workers, 53% were freelancing for at least 40 hours per week

Overall, Gen Z has a pretty different attitude about work from previous generations, partly because of the economic hardship they’ve witnessed being born into the Great Recession and coming of age during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Use this student loan calculator to estimate monthly student loan payments.

Three ways the US population will change over the next decade

This article lists the top three ways the US population will change over the next decade. Using population data from the US Census Bureau and the UN Population Division, the piece explores what America might look like 10 years from now, which...

Use this interactive tool to see how long Americans have tended to remain at the same job for in various decades.

In the US, 3.6 million babies were born in 2023

That year, about 40% of the babies were born to unmarried parents, and about 32% of the births were born via cesarean. On average, mothers were 27.5 years old when they had their first child.

Global population growth peaked six decades ago, at 2.3%.

The share of the immigrant population in the US peaked at nearly 16% in January 2025

In January 2025, the US reached a historic high of 53.3 million immigrants—nearly 16% of the population. By June of that year, the number had fallen by more than a million, ending 50 years of continuous growth in the immigrant population.

The US jobs projected to shrink the fastest over the next decade include typists and word processors.

The university system has an enrollment problem

Enrollment has dropped over the past few years—especially for men. In this Freakonomics podcast episode, educators and economists explain why they think college enrollment has been on the decline. They also offer solutions and make predictions for the future of college.

In 2025, the US national debt per person was $113K.

College tuition has climbed 600% in 40 years

The cost of attending college has outpaced inflation in the US. Tuition has climbed more than 600% in the past 40 years; more than three times the inflation rate. Many students have racked up student loans to cover rising college costs, while others have chosen not to attend college altogether.

In 2023, the US money supply fell at its fastest rate since the 1930s

The money supply tracks how much cash, as well as electronic funds like savings accounts, is circulating through the economy. And a downward turn can be a bad sign.

Why car insurance rates are skyrocketing

The average annual premium for auto insurance coverage in the US rose 26% in 2024, and rates are only expected to increase. The rate hikes aren't simply a result of more people getting into crashes. This video explores how a lack of trained auto mechanics, a tighter supply of used vehicles, record healthcare bills, and litigation are contributing to higher monthly insurance bills.

The national debt is growing at a faster rate than the economy.

Missouri had the fastest job growth rate in 2025

Between 2024 and 2025, Missouri had a 1.7% job growth rate—representing the percent increase in jobs in a particular state over the course of a year. North Carolina and South Carolina trailed Missouri with annual job growth rates of 1.5% and 1.3% respectively.

Why the US can’t end poverty

Despite being among the wealthiest nations in the world in terms of GDP, the US has a major poverty issue, with more than 37 million Americans living in poverty as of 2023. Part of the issue is that the standards by which the US measures poverty are outdated: The official poverty measure in the US today is based on calculations from the 1960s. Find out more in this video.

87% of the startups in Y Combinator’s Fall 2025 batch were AI companies

Y Combinator also recently increased its number of cohorts or “batches” per year from two to four. Its leaders cited artificial intelligence’s rise as a reason for the increase.

Artificial intelligence might make companies too efficient—which could trigger deflation

AI innovation will likely decrease costs for companies and lead to a large increase in supply. That dramatic increase could conceivably bring prices down but keep supply high. However, AI's real impact will likely be complicated by its impact on human labor and the cost of new technology.

Trump's H-1B fee hike could reshape US industries and global talent flows

Analysts warn the new H-1B fee could trigger labor shortages in tech, medicine, and universities; push firms to offshore more work; and drive skilled Indian workers and students toward other countries—weakening America's innovation edge.

Murder rates spiked in the US after COVID-19, and then declined in 2023

Criminologist and former investigator Jillian Peterson says whether a murder is solved in the US is nearly up to the flip of a coin, with the clearance rate for murder cases being about 50%. The US, which has more guns than citizens, has about roughly five gun homicides per 100,000 residents, resulting in the 28th-highest rate of deaths from gun violence compared to the rest of the world.

The number of people collecting money from gig work tripled between 2017 and 2021

That includes people driving for Lyft or delivering food through GrubHub. Those people might be changing the face of the US economy at large, too. Gig work provides a cushion between jobs outside of government unemployment assistance, for example.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, cashiers, office clerks, and customer service representatives face the largest potential workforce elimination by 2034.

The most common job in each US state in 2024

In 15 states, the most common job by number of employees is "fast food worker." Other most common jobs include cashiers and nurses.

Experts recommend preparing your finances accordingly if you're expecting to be laid off soon, taking actions such as looking into the cost of replacing employer-sponsored benefits like healthcare.

Understanding the global crash in fertility rates

This article breaks down the global crash in fertility rates. According to researchers, a global crash in children being born will have a “jaw-dropping” impact on societies. Women are choosing to have fewer children as a result of more women in...

Union membership was 9.9% in 2024, the lowest in nearly 40 years.

By 2028, data center power consumption may equal 22% of US households

Date from 2023 suggests that data centers accounted for around 4.4% of US electricity consumption, with new facilities supporting the AI boom consuming more power than the state of New Hampshire annually. However, the energy impact of individual use varies widely depending on the prompt and AI model. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The cost of college has more than tripled over the past five decades

Determining the all-in cost for each student’s specific circumstances can be tricky. But what is behind the rise in price? Analysts point to a number of factors—lack of transparency around cost, expansive government support, increased administrative burdens at schools, and more.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a monthly 'jobs report' that tracks the unemployment rate, the number of Americans currently on payroll, and more.

The monthly US employment report is eagerly anticipated by Wall Street and has significant impacts on markets.

Visualizing obesity rates across the US

Nearly 70% of adults in the US are either overweight or obese, rates that have tripled over the last 60 years. Severe cases have risen tenfold during this period. Factors like location, income level, and demographics contribute to various obesity levels across the US. Visualize the statistics with this article and chart series.

The US lags behind other developed countries in math and science scores

The Programme for International Student Assessment, administered every three years by the OECD to 15-year-olds, scores US students below the OECD average in math (465 vs. 472) and only slightly above average in science (499 vs. 485). These figures place US pupils in the lower half of developed nations.

25% of US households had no regular income as of 2024

Some states had higher shares of no-income households than others: West Virginia, for instance, had a national high of 34% of households with no income. These states tend to have older populations, higher rates of disability, and lower median incomes overall. In such contexts, a larger portion of households rely on non-earned income sources or report no income during the survey period.

Ranking the world’s economies: 1980 vs. 2025

The US remains the world’s largest economy, having increased its annual gross domestic product from $2.9T in 1980 to $30.6T in 2025. In 1980, China ranked seventh globally with a GDP of $304B. In 2025, China ranked second with a GDP of $19.4T.