📊 Economic Indicators |
Bureau of Labor Statistics |
- In September, the number of payroll jobs rose by 119,000, but job growth has been small since April; the jobless rate was 4.4 percent with 7.6 million people unemployed (up from 4.1 percent and 6.9 million a year earlier). Health care added 43,000 jobs, food services and drinking places added 37,000, and social assistance added 14,000, while transportation and warehousing lost 25,000 jobs and federal government payrolls fell by 3,000 (97,000 fewer since January). The long-term unemployed numbered 1.8 million (23.6 percent of the unemployed), 4.6 million people were working part time for economic reasons, and 5.9 million people not in the labor force said they want a job (down 421,000). Average hourly pay for private workers rose 9 cents to $36.67 in September and is up 3.8 percent over the past year, while some earlier months were revised down by a total of 33,000 jobs; these numbers matter because they show modest hiring and small wage gains, which affect how easy it is to find work and how much money people take home. Read full document →
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Pew Research |
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Pew Research asked 5,022 U.S. adults between Feb. 5 and June 18, 2025 about which social media sites they use. It found that YouTube and Facebook are the most-used platforms, half of adults (50%) say they use Instagram, and smaller shares use TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat and X (formerly Twitter). Use of these sites differs by age, gender and education, meaning some groups are much more likely to use certain platforms than others. This matters because social media shapes how people connect, learn about the news, and share information, so who uses which sites affects what information different groups see and hear. Read full document →
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Pew Research asked U.S. adults in early 2025 which social media sites they use and how often, surveying 5,022 people from Feb. 5–June 18, 2025 (and 5,123 people Feb. 24–Mar. 2 about daily use). The biggest sites are YouTube (84% of adults ever use it) and Facebook (71%); half of adults use Instagram (50%), 37% use TikTok, 32% use WhatsApp, and 26% use Reddit; Threads, Bluesky and Truth Social are each used by about 10% or less. Young adults use social apps much more: 18- to 29-year-olds have about 80% Instagram use and about half go on TikTok at least once a day, while adults 65+ use Instagram much less (19%) and only 5% use TikTok daily. Women are more likely than men to use Instagram (55% vs. 44%) and TikTok, while men are more likely to use X and Reddit; Hispanic (62%), Asian (58%) and Black (54%) adults use Instagram more than White adults (45%). People with college degrees use Reddit (about 40%) and WhatsApp more than those with less schooling, and political leanings differ too (Republicans more likely to use X and Truth Social; Democrats more likely to use WhatsApp, Reddit, TikTok, Bluesky and Threads). About half of adults go on Facebook or YouTube at least once a day (37% visit Facebook several times a day; 33% do so on YouTube), 24% use TikTok daily, and 10% use X daily. These facts matter because they show where people get news, talk to each other, and form opinions, so knowing who uses which sites helps shape policy, business, and efforts to protect young people. Read full document →
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Pew Research asked 5,022 U.S. adults between Feb. 5 and June 18, 2025 about internet and home internet use; it found that 96% of adults use the internet, 78% pay for high-speed broadband at home, and 16% are “smartphone-only” (they have a smartphone but no home broadband). Younger adults, people with at least some college, and those in higher-income households are almost all online and more likely to have home broadband, while people with lower incomes and less education are less likely to have home broadband and more likely to rely only on a smartphone. These gaps matter because having or not having home broadband affects how easily people can do schoolwork, apply for jobs, get health information, and use government services. Read full document →
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Pew Research asked 5,022 U.S. adults about phones and internet use to see how people go online. They found 98% of adults have a cellphone and 91% have a smartphone (up from 35% in 2011), and 16% of adults use only a smartphone for internet at home (they do not have home broadband). Most groups have high phone ownership, but people who are younger, have lower household incomes, or have less education are more likely to depend on a smartphone instead of home internet. These facts matter because phones are now how almost everyone can get news, work, learn, and use services, and people without home broadband may face limits on what they can do online. Read full document →
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