Economy & Work

A new study finds that mortality rates increase during upward cycles in the economy, and decrease during downward cycles.

Survey Report With just two days to go before an Oct. 17 deadline to raise the nation’s debt limit, 51% of the public views a rise in the nation’s debt limit as “absolutely essential” in order to avoid an economic crisis, while 36% think the country can go past the deadline without major problems. Public […]

There’s no tougher job than being a parent, or so the saying goes. This sentiment seems to be confirmed by a new Pew Research Center analysis of government time use data. Parents find caring for their children to be much more exhausting than the work they do for pay. At the same time, parents find much more meaning in the time they spend with their children than in the time they spend at work.

Survey Report Nearly a week into the first government shutdown in more than 17 years, most Americans express frustration and concern about the situation. Yet on the core issue dividing Republicans and Democrats in Washington – whether cuts or delays to the 2010 health care law should be part of any budget deal – there […]

ADP's monthly report on nonfarm private-sector payrolls is a reasonable alternative to the Bureau of Labor Statistics during the government shutdown.

Two separate, but related conversations have been prominent on Twitter—one about the government shutdown and the other about President Obama's health care law, the landmark legislation at the heart of the Congressional impasse that triggered the shutdown.

Which federal data sources are, aren't and may be affected by the government shutdown.

The estimated cost of the two federal government shutdowns in fiscal 1996 was more than $1.4 billion ($2.1 billion in today's dollars).

Survey Report With a possible government shutdown just hours away, public anger at the federal government is as high as at any point since the Pew Research Center began asking the question in 1997. Anger is most palpable among conservative Republicans – 41% say they are angry at the federal government, the highest among any […]

As the government faces its first shutdown since 1995-1996, the standoff between the Obama administration and Republicans over the federal budget is occurring in a different public opinion environment than when President Bill Clinton faced off with the GOP-controlled House.