The COVID-related financial market decline and economic recession have raised new concerns regarding the financial sustainability of retirement plans for state and local government employees, the largest group of whom is public school teachers. Using data from the Public Plans Database and the National Income and Product Accounts, I analyze…

Although diverse patterns of college enrollment have gained attention in recent years, few studies have looked at students who take courses at four-year and two-year colleges simultaneously. Using a propensity score matching approach to compare outcomes of four-year college students who earned up to 10 credits at two-year colleges, termed…

Following identifications of gendered inconsistencies in higher education delivery [Ain, C., F. Sabir, and J. Willison. 2018. "Research Skills That men and Women Developed at University and Then Used in Workplaces." "Studies in Higher Education," Published online.], this work exposes unseen gender-related issues in the graduate…

This article presents the annual report on the economic status of the profession. This year's report covers three main issues--all perennial problems, but with new analysis based on the latest data--in addition to summarizing the current results from the annual American Association of University Professors (AAUP) survey of full-time faculty…

The economy's need for workers originates in the demand for the goods and services that they provide. So, to project employment, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) starts by projecting the gross domestic product (GDP) for 2018. GDP is the value of the final goods produced and services provided in the United States. Then, BLS estimates the…

This article illustrates projected employment change from an industry perspective over the 2008-2018 decade. Workers are grouped into an industry according to the type of good produced or service provided by the establishment in which they work. Industry employment projections are shown in terms of numeric change (growth or decline in the total…

When choosing a career, jobseekers often want to know which occupations offer the best prospects. Generally, occupations that have rapid job growth, many new jobs, or many job openings--and good wages--promise better opportunities. This article shows how employment in particular occupations is projected to change over the 2008-2018 decade. The…

The labor force is the number of people aged 16 or older who are either working or looking for work. It does not include active-duty military personnel or institutionalized people, such as prison inmates. Quantifying this total supply of labor is a way of determining how big the economy can get. Labor force participation rates vary significantly…

It is commonly believed that education is a good thing for individuals. Yet, its correlation with subjective well-being is most often only weakly positive, or even negative, despite the many associated better individual-level outcomes. We here square the circle using novel Japanese data on happiness aspirations. If reported happiness comes from a…

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. With a duration of eighteen months, this recession was almost double the length of the average post-World War II economic downturn. Although the worst recession since the Great Depression is now technically over, this analysis…

Current Population Survey data indicate that 1 of 11 people in the United States is self-employed, much lower than the 1 in 5 immediately after World War II. Unpaid family farm and business work has virtually disappeared, whereas incorporated self-employment has increased. (SK)

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 show substantial work activity among 14- and 15-year-olds. From age 14 to 15, youths appear to shift more toward working in employee jobs and less in freelance jobs such as babysitting or yard work. Girls were more likely than boys to be working in freelance jobs, and whites were more likely…

Addresses four questions regarding employment in the construction industry: (1) what have the long-term trends been, (2) how does the business cycle affect construction, (3) what are the seasonal patterns, and (4) what is the impact of these trends on workers. (JOW)

In 1999, there were 5.6 million contingent workers; the number and proportion remained unchanged from 1997-1999. Contingency rate was highest for younger workers, part-time workers, women, blacks, and Hispanics. More than half would rather have noncontingent jobs. Compared with earlier data, they were more likely to have personal than economic…

Many computer, engineering, and health occupations will continue to grow at much faster than average rates, according to the latest projections to 1995 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment trends and job prospects for almost 200 jobs of every kind are described here. (Author)