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The number of job openings has declined sharply in every state
Nationally, for the first time since before the pandemic, the number of job openings and unemployed people is roughly in balance.
Road to ‘huh?’ is paved with highway humor
Millions of drivers will find more puns, silly turns of phrase, or cultural references on highway signs, but federal safety officials aren’t amused.
The number of births continues to fall, despite abortion bans
Only Tennessee and North Dakota had small increases in births from 2022 to 2023, according to an analysis of federal data on births.
Too many cubicles, too few homes spur incentives to convert offices to housing
Cities and suburbs around the country are struggling with vacant office space as remote work becomes an established post-pandemic reality.
Swing states see newcomers as Americans move from blue to red counties
Republican suburban counties in four swing states — Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — gained the most new arrivals in recent years.
States rethink ambitious projects as tax revenues shrink and pandemic aid ends
State tax revenue fell last year by 4%, according to a Stateline analysis of U.S. Census Bureau estimates released this month.
No fare! Free bus rides raise questions of fairness, viability.
RICHMOND, Va. — Free bus rides have made life easier for Melvin Wilson, a 28-year-old Richmond resident who was on his way to his warehouse job on a recent morning. His only worry is that fares, which once ate up $60 or more of his monthly pay, might come back and go even higher, making […]
Wastewater tests show COVID infections surging, but pandemic fatigue limits precautions
With pandemic fatigue also in full force, and deaths and hospitalizations well down from peaks in 2021, many are shrugging off the new wave.
Hospitality workers’ wages are rising faster than high earners’ in most states
The 29% average raise for hospitality workers compares with an average increase of 20% for the highest-earning category in each state.
More Hispanic families are reaching the middle class
The Hispanic middle class has grown faster than the white or Black middle class in the past decade and has reached near-parity with the white middle class in seven states.
Some states’ economies cool even as the nation’s sizzles
The preliminary unemployment rate rose in 38 states and economic output slowed in 32 states in October, according to preliminary federal economic data.
Less driving but more deaths: Spike in traffic fatalities puzzles lawmakers
People are driving fewer miles than they were in 2019, but more are dying on roadways.