Economy & Work

Among married couples with their own children under 18 at home, the share with a working wife and unemployed husband went up in 41 states in 2009, compared with the year before, according to a new Census Bureau analysis of data from the American Community Survey.

Summary of Findings The 2010 congressional elections dominated news coverage last week, but not the public’s attention. Americans continued to focus most closely on news about the nation’s struggling economy and about four-in-ten (39%) say news reports portray the economy “about the way it really is.” Smaller, roughly equal percentages say the media make the […]

The Census Bureau just released its 2009 American Community Survey statistics, and included some additional analysis to address public interest in using the data to document the impact of the economic downturn.

While a small majority of Americans experienced a mix of hardships during the recession, nearly half were largely free of economic difficulties.

The number of children living with a grandparent who serves as a primary caregiver increased by 6% from 2007 to 2008.

Overview Nearly four-in-ten Americans (39%) say that allowing Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy to expire at the end of this year would hurt the economy, while about a quarter each say this would help the economy (26%) or have no effect (26%). The latest Pew Research/National Journal Congressional Connection poll, sponsored by SHRM, conducted […]

Despite all the animosity aimed at Washington, one usual political punching bag is actually not seen as villainous as it once was: taxes. More say they pay about the right amount in taxes than say they pay more than their fair share.

More than a third (36%) of Americans say the practice of "walking away" from a home mortgage is acceptable, at least under certain circumstances.

Nearly six-in-ten Americans say it is “unacceptable” for homeowners to stop making their mortgage payments, but more than a third say the practice of “walking away” from a home mortgage is acceptable under certain circumstances. Homeowners whose home values declined during the recession and those who have spent time unemployed are more likely to say that “walking away” from a mortgage is acceptable.