job market

U.S. employers added 128,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate inched up to 3.6%. The drop in job creation reflects a slowing economy, but a strike at General Motors was also a factor.

Ames, Iowa, has an unemployment rate of 1.5%, making it the tightest job market in the country. That's great for workers — but a challenge for those looking for them.

Latino joblessness has dipped to historic lows. But many economists are taking those numbers with caution: There's still a gaping wage difference with white workers.

People convicted of felonies often have difficulties getting hired. But many employers say they're suffering a labor shortage, and attitudes toward hiring people with criminal records are changing.

For years after the Great Recession, employers were reluctant to boost wages. Now a tight labor market is giving workers the leverage they need to demand a larger slice of the nation's economic pie.

U.S. unemployment is at a nearly 50-year low. The jobless rate for Hispanics has never been lower. The past two years have been the best job market ever for African Americans. Shouldn't we be excited?

Employers added far more jobs than expected in April — another sign the U.S. economy is chugging along as the expansion nears the 10-year mark. The unemployment rate was the lowest since 1969.

After the age of 21, adults with intellectual disabilities are aged out of programs designed to help them. A cafe in Connecticut was recently opened to provide employment and a gathering place.

Private analysts forecast that the U.S. unemployment rate remained at a nearly 50-year low of 3.7 percent in November and that the economy added 190,000 jobs. That's below October's gain of 250,000.

The midterm elections are days away, and Friday's jobs report will give voters a final glimpse of the strength of the economy. A key recurring question: Is wage growth finally picking up?

An NPR/Marist poll finds that 30 percent of Americans do something else for pay in addition to their full-time jobs. But those extended workdays can mean giving up an important social support system.

One in five workers is a contract worker, according to a new NPR/Marist poll. Within a decade, contractors and freelancers could make up half of the workforce, a shift with far-reaching implications.