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
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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.
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2015 U.S.-Germany Survey Presentation
This presentation examines American and German attitudes toward each other and their respective geopolitical roles. This report is based on telephone surveys in the United States and Germany. In the U.S., interviews were conducted February 26 to March 1, 2015 among a national sample of 1,003 persons, 18 years of age or older. In Germany, […]
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5 key takeaways about the U.S.-German relationship
Although Americans and Germans were adversaries in World War II, they became allies during the Cold War and remain strategic trading and military partners today. Our survey, conducted in association with the Bertelsmann Foundation, shows that the relationship faces new challenges.
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Job categories where union membership has fallen off most
The American public’s generally favorable view of labor unions hasn’t stopped, or even slowed, union membership’s long decline.
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Mixed Views of Impact of Long-Term Decline in Union Membership
The share of wage and salary workers in the U.S. who belong to labor unions has fallen by about half since 1983. Americans express mixed views on the impact this long-term decline has had on the country.
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Car, bike or motorcycle? Depends on where you live
In asking people in 44 countries which of these they owned, we found notable differences between economically advanced nations, emerging markets and developing countries.
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Working-mom guilt? Many dads feel it too
Today’s working fathers are just as likely as working mothers to say that finding the right balance between their job and their family life is a challenge.
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Working while pregnant is much more common than it used to be
The latest figures show that 66% of mothers who gave birth to their first child between 2006 and 2008 worked during pregnancy, up from 44% in the early 1960s.
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Americans split over whether businesses must serve same-sex couples
A new Indiana religious freedom law has sparked national debate. Some say it strengthens protection of religious liberty, while others say it could provide legal cover for businesses to discriminate. The U.S. public is divided over these types of issues.
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Share of Unauthorized Immigrant Workers in Production, Construction Jobs Falls Since 2007
Most U.S. unauthorized immigrants hold low-skilled service, construction and production jobs, but those shares have fallen since 2007. In the states, the leading industry employers are hospitality, manufacturing and construction.
