Reports on Work

Reports are listed in reverse chronological order.

College Enrollment Hits All-Time High, Fueled by Community College Surge
29 Oct 09 The share of 18- to 24-year-olds attending college in the United States hit an all-time high in October 2008, driven by a recession-era surge in enrollments at community colleges, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Just under 11.5 million students, or 39.6% of all young adults ages 18 to 24, were enrolled in either a two- or four-year college in October 2008. Both figures -- the absolute number as well as the share -- are at their highest level ever.

Recession Turns a Graying Office Grayer : America’s Changing Work Force
3 Sep 09 The American work force is graying -- and not just because the American population itself is graying. Older adults are staying in the labor force longer, and younger adults are staying out of it longer. Both trends took shape about two decades ago. Both have intensified during the current recession. Both are expected to continue after the economy recovers. One reason, according to a Pew Research survey, is that older workers value not just the economics benefits of work, but the psychic and social rewards.

Women Call the Shots at Home; Public Mixed on Gender Roles in Jobs: Gender and Power
25 Sep 08 They say it's a man’s world. But in the typical American family, it’s the woman who wears the pantsuit.

Men or Women: Who’s the Better Leader?: A Paradox in Public Attitudes
25 Aug 08 Americans rate women superior to men in terms of honesty, intelligence and other traits they value highly in leaders, according to a new national survey. But only 6% of respondents say that, overall, women make better political leaders than men.

You're Laid Off: A Worsening Economy Couldn't Come at a Worse Time for Many U.S. Workers
16 Apr 08 At a time when the American economy is trending down and the unemployment rate is ticking up, one out of every seven U.S. workers fear they will be laid off in the next 12 months, according to a recent Pew Social and Demographic Trends survey.

Inside the Middle Class: Bad Times Hit the Good Life
9 Apr 08 Americans feel stuck in their tracks. Most survey respondents say that in the past five years, they either haven’t moved forward in life (25%) or have fallen backward (31%) -- the most downbeat assessment in nearly half a century of polling by the Pew Research Center and the Gallup organization. But at the same time, two-thirds say they have a higher standard of living than their parents had.

Fewer Mothers Prefer Full-time Work: From 1997 to 2007
12 Jul 07 In the span of the past decade, full-time work outside the home has lost some of its appeal to mothers. This trend holds for both those who have such jobs and those who don't.

Working After Retirement: The Gap Between Expectations and Reality
21 Sep 06 A new Pew Social Trends survey finds a yawning gap between the expectations of today's workers, more than three-quarters of whom believe they will work for pay even after they retire, and current retirees, just 12% of whom are actually working for pay right now.

Americans See Less Progress on Their Ladder of Life
14 Sep 06 As economists and politicians debate whether there is less mobility in the U.S. now than in the past, a new Pew survey finds that many among the public are seeing less progress in their own lives.

American Work Life is Worsening, But Most Workers Still Content
30 Aug 06 Americans are generally satisfied with their own jobs but believe that wages, benefits, job security and employer loyalty have deteriorated over the past generation for most workers, a new survey finds.

Once Again, The Future Ain't What It Used to Be
2 May 06 Barely a third of today's adults expect today's children to grow up better off than people are now.