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
A Year Into Trump’s Second Term, Americans’ Views of the Economy Remain Negative
Most Americans continue to hold negative views of the U.S. economy, as has been the case for the last six years.
About 1 in 5 U.S. workers now use AI in their job, up since last year
Workers younger than 50 and workers with a bachelor’s degree or more education are among the most likely to use AI in their job.
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5 ways the U.S. workforce has changed, a decade since the Great Recession began
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.
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New foreign student enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities doubled since Great Recession
Nearly 364,000 foreign students with F-1 visas were newly enrolled at a U.S. college or university in 2016, double the number at the outset of the Great Recession.
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What Americans expect the future of automation to look like
In the next 20 years, Americans anticipate computer programs that diagnose and treat most diseases, fully automated stores and other technological advances.
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Americans generally positive about NAFTA, but most Republicans say it benefits Mexico more than U.S.
Most Americans say that NAFTA is good for the United States, and relatively few say that Mexico or Canada benefit more from the agreement than the U.S. does.
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Views of Job Situation Improve Sharply, but Many Still Say They’re Falling Behind Financially
Currently, 50% of Americans say there are plenty of jobs available in their communities – the highest number saying that jobs are plentiful in Pew Research Center surveys dating to 2001.
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How wealth inequality has changed in the U.S. since the Great Recession, by race, ethnicity and income
In the U.S., the racial and ethnic wealth gap has evolved differently for families at different income levels since the Great Recession.
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Most think the ‘American dream’ is within reach for them
Most Americans say they have achieved the “American dream” or are on their way to achieving it. Yet, the American dream means different things to different people.
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Among developed nations, Americans’ tax bills are below average
Tax burdens in the U.S. are lower than most of its developed-nation peers – in some cases, well below.
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Women are more concerned than men about gender discrimination in tech industry
Women in the U.S. are substantially more likely than men to say gender discrimination is a major problem in the technology industry.
