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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Publications
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The fading of the teen summer job
The share of teens working summer jobs has dwindled, from well over half as recently as the 1980s to less than a third last year.
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NATO Publics Blame Russia for Ukrainian Crisis, but Reluctant to Provide Military Aid
Publics of key NATO member nations blame Russia for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, but few support sending arms to Ukraine. And half of Russians see NATO as a military threat, while Ukrainians favor joining NATO.
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Faith in European Project Reviving
In the wake of the euro currency crisis, public support for the EU and the belief that European economic integration was good for one’s country had declined precipitously across Europe, reaching a low point in 2013. But in 2015, favorable views of the EU and faith in the efficacy of creating a single market are generally rebounding in major EU member states.
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What we know about Cuba’s economy
Despite some reforms, the island country’s economy remains dominated by the government and state-owned enterprises.
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Free Trade Agreements Seen as Good for U.S., But Concerns Persist
As Congress considers a major new trade pact with Asia, there is broad public agreement that international free trade agreements are good for the United States. But fewer Americans express positive views of the impact of trade deals on their personal finances.
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For Fact Tank’s anniversary, a look back at the news in the numbers
Here’s a roundup of our most-visited blog posts over the past year, along with some insights into the editorial thinking behind them.
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Negative Views of New Congress Cross Party Lines
Survey Report The new Republican-led Congress is drawing harsh reviews from the public – including most Republicans. Just 23% of Americans say congressional Republicans are keeping the promises they made during last fall’s campaign, while 65% say they are not. Nearly four-in-ten (37%) say the new Congress has accomplished less than they expected, while 4% […]
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Family Support in Graying Societies
America is turning gray, with the share of people ages 65 and older expected to rise more than 50% by 2050 – a trend that may burden more families. But Germany and Italy are already there, with a fifth of their population in that age range.
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With trade on Congress’ agenda, just what does the U.S. import and export?
Though crude oil continues to be the nation’s single biggest import, energy exports have risen sharply. Exports of some metals and agricultural products also have grown rapidly.
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For young Americans, unemployment returns to pre-recession levels
More than half (50.9%) of the nation’s nearly 8 million unemployed for April are ages 16 to 34 – even though that group makes up just over a third of the civilian labor force.
