The United States at 250: How the Country Has Changed in the Past 50 Years
Ahead of the nation’s birthday, Pew Research Center identified some prominent trends across key areas of American life: demographics, work, family and economics.
Economy & Work
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Fresh data delivered Saturday mornings
All
Economy & Work
Publications
-
Where do foreign student graduates work in the United States?
Explore the movement of international graduates in the 61 metro areas where at least 5,000 foreign graduates applied and were approved for OPT.
-
Number of Foreign College Students Staying and Working in U.S. After Graduation Surges
The federal Optional Practical Training program saw a 400% increase in foreign students graduating and working in STEM fields between 2008 and 2016.
-
Women scarce at top of U.S. business – and in the jobs that lead there
Only about 5% of the chief executive officers of 1,500 companies we examined were women. Among the tier of executives just below the CEO in terms of pay and position in the corporate hierarchy, 11.5% were women.
-
U.S. trade deficits with other countries can vary significantly, depending on how they’re measured
The United States runs a far larger merchandise trade deficit with China than with any other nation. But when the trade deficit is measured in other ways, the U.S. actually has a larger imbalance with countries outside of China.
-
Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. labor force
As of 2017, 56 million Millennials were working or looking for work, more than the 53 million Generation Xers and 41 million Baby Boomers in the labor force.
-
Despite talk of ‘trade war’ with China, highest U.S. tariffs are on imports from other Asian countries
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.
-
Sexual Harassment at Work in the Era of #MeToo
Many Americans see new difficulties for men in workplace interactions and little effect on women’s career opportunities amid the increased focus on sexual harassment and assault.
-
East Coast and Texas metros had the most H-1B visas for skilled workers from 2010 to 2016
The employment of high-skilled foreign workers with H-1B visas centered in large East Coast and Texas metro areas in fiscal 2010-2016.
-
H-1B visa approvals by metropolitan area, fiscal 2010-2016
The H-1B visa program is the nation’s biggest temporary employment visa program. Explore the number of approvals by U.S. metropolitan area.
-
U.S. tariffs vary a lot, but the highest duties tend to be on imported clothing
Average tariff rates, while useful for comparison, can obscure the wide range of rates imposed on different classes of imports and on specific products.
