Coronavirus downturn likely to add to high government debt in some countries
For some governments, the debt incurred on COVID-19 relief will add to the considerable red ink already on their ledgers before the pandemic.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
For some governments, the debt incurred on COVID-19 relief will add to the considerable red ink already on their ledgers before the pandemic.
Veterans of prime working age generally fare at least as well as non-veterans in the U.S. job market, though there are differences in the work they do.
Despite improvements in recent decades, the former East Germany trails the former West on several important economic measures.
While women are still underrepresented in top corporate jobs, there has been a small increase in the share of women executives in such positions over the past decade.
Despite some ups and downs over the past several decades, today’s real average wage in the U.S. has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago. And most of what wage gains there have been have flowed to the highest-paid tier of workers.
Most Americans like labor unions, at least in the abstract. A majority (55%) holds a favorable view of unions, versus 33% who hold an unfavorable view, according to a Pew Research Center survey from earlier this year. Despite those fairly benign views, unionization rates in the United States have dwindled in recent decades. As of 2017, just 10.7% of all wage and salary workers were union members, matching the record low set in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Average tariff rates, while useful for comparison, can obscure the wide range of rates imposed on different classes of imports and on specific products.
The Trump administration’s plans to impose $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports, as well as tariffs recently placed on imported steel and aluminum and on imports of solar panels and washing machines, mark a distinct break from decades of U.S. trade policy, which long has generally favored lower tariffs and fewer restrictions on the movement of goods and services across international borders.
The highest U.S. tariffs aren’t on imports from its biggest trading partners, but on products from several developing South Asian nations whose exports are heavily weighted toward clothing, footwear and other products that the U.S. generally taxes highly.
As we approach the 10th anniversary of the start of the Great Recession, five ways in which the U.S. workforce has changed over the past decade.
1615 L St. NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
USA
(+1) 202-419-4300 | Main
(+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax
(+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries
ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
© 2024 Pew Research Center