Like many New Yorkers, Hazel B. of Queens struggled to get by after she was laid off from her job as an accounts receivable administrator. A single mother of two, Hazel relied on credit cards to make ends meet while she looked for work.
Finally, she found a job opening that looked promising. She went on two interviews and took a test given by the potential employer. She believed she had performed well, but then word came back that Hazel would not be hired because of negative information in her credit report.
Demos has conducted extensive research on credit card debt among low- and middle-income households. As part of this research, we have become increasingly concerned with how families are being financially penalized for being in debt, making it difficult, if not impossible, for them to ever get out of debt.
New Yorkers shut out of a job by employment credit checks spoke out and told their stories, expressing hope that New York City would build on its recent success banning discrimination against the unemployed in hiring to also put an end to credit discrimination.
President Obama’s nomination of Ernest Moniz for secretary of energy is a serious blow to environmentalists. Appearing before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources yesterday, Moniz strongly supported an “all-of-the-above” strategy and emphasized that lowering the cost of energy should be the United States’ top priority.
A new report looks at the voting patterns in the last election of the fastest growing racial groups in the U.S.—Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). A collaborative effort between Asian American Justice Center, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, and National Asian American Survey, the report presents results from the 2012 Asian American and Pacific Islander Post-Election Survey, the largest nationally representative survey of Asian American and Pacific Islander voters in 2012.
Statistics from NCES reveal how financial instability during college can be prolonged after leaving, as borrowing compounds with higher rates of unemployment and underemployment, and lower pay.
A growing number of voices are advocating closer collaboration between business, labor, and government -- as well as nonprofit groups -- to grow the U.S. economy.
An influential state lawmaker in North Carolina is launching an effort to make it harder for his state’s citizens to vote. It’s a development that should trouble voters, especially because North Carolina’s election process has been improving lately.
Another month of weak job growth seems especially cruel after the greater-than-expected employment gains in February. But workers were already onto the trend, leaving the labor market in droves throughout March despite the anomaly of a statistical surge in hiring the month before.
It seems clear that consumers are still tapped out, with their incomes flat for years, and many of the new jobs being created lately are low-wage positions that don't leave people with much spending money.
NEW YORK, NY – In advance of the release of this month’s job figures, national public policy center Demos today issued a new report analyzing the lasting economic effects of youth unemployment.
Young adults are in a critical period of change and choices, as they confront the decisions that will pave the way to their futures. But the generation coming into its own in the aftermath of the Great Recession faces challenges that threaten to undermine even the best laid plans.
Thanks to the new paid sick leave law just passed in New York City, Urban Outfitters will have to offer five days of paid sick time to its New York employees, including part-time ones, starting in spring 2014.
While nobody wants to admit it, the truth is that we should be talking about how to increase Social Security benefits in coming years, not decrease them.
Unfortunately, it looks like taxpayers will pay for the cleanup for a reason that we should be very concerned about as discussion continues over the Keystone pipeline.
A funny thing happened on Fox Business News last night, where I appeared on a panel to discuss President Obama's new initiative to map the human brain, spending $100 million next year to get started: Everyone on the show gave a thumbs up to the plan, including my two conservative co-panelists and the host.
That's the first time I've ever been on the same side as everyone else on Fox.
