WHY IT MATTERS: Jobs
WASHINGTON — THE ISSUE: Tepid income growth and shrinking opportunities for blue-collar workers have kept many Americans anxious about jobs and the economy, seven years after the Great Recession ended.
The unemployment rate has fallen to a relatively low 4.9 per cent. But many Americans are struggling to keep up with an economy that has been fundamentally transformed since the recession, and is very different from the one their parents experienced.
Most jobs with decent pay require more education than in the past. And some of the best-paying, fastest-growing jobs are in newer fields such as data analytics, computer network security, and software development. Such jobs typically require very specific skills.
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