Downward mobility
A series on the struggling promise of upward mobility and the economic stagnation of the American workforce
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The Great Recession: are you better off now than in 2008?The US is in the middle of the longest streak of job creation on record – and yet it doesn’t feel that way to many Americans. Share your recovery story with us
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Eight years after the Great Recession, recovery still rings hollowEight years after the Great Recessions, the White House claims the economic recovery is here. But many aren’t feeling it. Here, five people reflect on how their lives have changed
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Far from middle class: why JPMorgan's wage hike is not worth celebratingJamie Dimon announced a gradual pay increase for some of his 18,000 employees. But some argue bank tellers deserve much more
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What does California's new minimum wage buy? A long commute and a roomCalifornia will be the first state to adopt a $15 minimum wage, but for residents exiled to the Bay Area’s fringes by impossible rents, it may not make a difference
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Uptown food pantry brings Thanksgiving feast to New York's poorestWhile some New Yorkers kick off holiday season with decadent meals and festive celebrations, others struggle to afford food at all
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How opponents of raising minimum wage pit workers against each anotherIn a new American class war, it’s white- and blue-collar workers versus the working poor. That’s great for those who want to keep the minimum wage low
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Census data shows Obamacare and welfare kept millions out of povertyThe number of uninsured Americans decreased by 8.8 million in 2014, according to poverty measure data released by the US Census bureau
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'Dr Evil' says a $15 minimum wage will create high school dropoutsA new billboard campaign implies that $15 an hour for fast-food workers would undermine the value of higher education
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New York state fast food workers celebrate $15 minimum wage victoryFast Food Wage Board appointed by governor Andrew Cuomo announces plan which has city’s fast food workers on track to see same wage increase by 2018
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‘Troubling’ report finds growing number of US children living in povertyEconomic recovery hasn’t helped many families return to pre-2008 recession security, and the number of children growing up in poverty is steadily increasing
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Fact-checking Jeb Bush: If Americans work more hours, economy will growThe Republican presidential candidate says that people need to work longer hours to earn more – but labor statistics show that’s easier said than done
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Too damn high: Manhattan average apartment prices reach record of $1.87mTrend of renting over buying driving up real estate prices by 11% from 2014, as 99% of borough’s apartments and homes available for rent are occupied
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Class of 2015: women are still making less than men – and prospects are poorYoung female college graduates are expected to make $3 less an hour than male counterparts – and all this year’s graduates face a struggle for good jobs, report finds
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Unlike Gwyneth Paltrow, millennials understand the reality of food stampsWith tuition rising and unpaid internships increasingly the norm, many recent graduates are eligible for assistance and despite the stigma, some are taking it
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Dear Gwyneth, this is what living on food stamps really looks likeTo really walk in the shoes of low-income Americans, Gwyneth Paltrow would have to shop at a dollar store and eat processed food
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Wages stuck in a rut as recovery rings hollow for America's middle class‘No one who works hard in a full-time job should have to live in poverty’ says the senator trying to raise the federal minimum wage. But that is the reality facing many Americans
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You tell us: what can you buy with your hourly wage?Do you earn the current minimum wage of $7.25 an hour? Can it buy you a meal? A movie ticket? Or a top-up at the gas station? Tell us how far your money goes
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Census says 16m US children are living on food stamps, double the number in 2007Census bureau finds about 16 million – or one in five – US children lived in families that received food stamps in 2014
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A user's guide to President Obama's new economic promisesChildcare, maternity leave, tax reform, trade agreements – the president wants it all in his final two years. Our experts ponder whether it’s feasible
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Obama's 'middle-class economics' is proof he has no more campaigns to runThe president namechecked a series of bold economic initiatives in his State of the Union address but a hostile Congress is sure to make life tough for him
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Americans gave Obama a failing grade on middle-class economics in 2013. Can that change?President Obama frequently touts his policies as middle class-friendly. But, with Congress fighting him, the rich keep getting richer
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More than half of US public school students live in poverty, report findsProblem is growing, especially among children, as report finds the majority of public school students in nearly half of US states live in poverty
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Poor Americans are less likely to vote and more likely to distrust government, study showsPolitical engagement, it appears, is a privilege for those who aren’t struggling to make ends meet
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Obama heads to Detroit but residents are too busy with the 'hustle' to careMotor City prides itself on its ‘hustle’. With auto plants and their jobs gone and dried up, residents are left to worry about how to join the new local startup economy, scrounging for minimum-wage jobs – or even bartering to survive
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The US jobs picture in 2015: brighter, with chance of Republican stormsWill the new year bring better jobs and higher pay? The president says so, and many Americans are ready to believe. But Republicans are set to mount a counteroffensive over the still-recovering US economy
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New York City real estate prices soar to record $1.7m per apartmentNew ultra-luxury apartments in New York rake in millions of dollars, and demand is increasing
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The new American dream: high school-educated millennials pursue individualism rather than marriageHigh school-educated young Americans – what scholar Andrew Cherlin defines as the working class – are now pursuing their ‘expressive selves’ in much the same way as the middle class. Cherlin worries the trend could prove damaging
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Poverty leads to death for more black Americans than whitesA new study concludes poverty affects Americans differently. The reasons are manifold but center on the economic segregation of many communities
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One in five millennials lives in poverty, report findsThe age cohort continues to surprise economists and defy sweeping generalizations, from how many live in poverty to how many drive cars
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How do you avoid spending too much on Christmas?Have you ever had a Christmas in which you had more gifts to buy than money to buy them with? What were your creative solutions?
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Americans' wealth shrinks as middle-class takes a hit from falling home pricesAmericans rely on their houses as their primary source of wealth, so falling home prices have hurt the net worth of middle-class Americans
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Study of poverty-ridden neighborhoods shows gentrification is not ruining enough of AmericaWhile Americans worry about gentrification, more neighborhoods become poor, report says
When General Electric jobs left Schenectady so did a way of life