Posts by Stephanie Horan:
Only 55% of non-retired American adults have money in a defined contribution plan such as an IRA or 401(k), according to 2019 data collected by the Federal Reserve. With the coronavirus pandemic upending many aspects of Americans’ lives, saving for retirement may have taken a backseat, even for those individuals who were previously saving. Job losses and unforeseen expenses may lead to the reshuffling of financial priorities – with individuals prioritizing short-term needs over long-term financial goals. Read more
The gender unemployment gap is defined as the difference between female and male unemployment rates. A “positive” gap indicates that female unemployment is higher than male unemployment while a “negative” gap indicates the opposite. Though the gender unemployment gap was positive for much of the 20th century, the gap closed as employment opportunities for women expanded in the second half, in turn allowing for more opportunities to spend and save. Since the 1980s, the gap has been virtually nonexistent, with the exception of recessions. Read more
Overseen by the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is the largest fixture of federal coronavirus financial relief programs. The program provides forgivable loans to small businesses, defined as those with fewer than 500 employees, to cover payroll and associated costs. Read more
Young adults today move more than previous generations. A recent Zillow study found that in 2017, close to one in two millennials – more than 45% – had lived in their current home for fewer than two… Read more
The U.S. unemployment rate rose nationally by 11.2 percentage points between February 2020 and April 2020, from 3.5% to 14.7%. While unemployment has risen throughout the country, compromising job… Read more
Despite various government relief programs, the coronavirus crisis has already affected the finances of many Americans. Over the past eight weeks, more than one in four individuals filed for… Read more
The coronavirus pandemic has drastically impacted the budgets of not only individuals, but also states. State revenues have declined due to delays in income tax collections along with decreases in… Read more
April 1, 2020 marked the original self-response deadline of the 24th Census in the U.S. As mandated by the constitution, the decennial count determines how many congressional seats each state gets,… Read more
Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published its anxiously awaited April 2020 Employment Report, perhaps the first comprehensive look beyond jobless claims on how coronavirus and the… Read more
Passed on March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided Americans with one-time economic impact payments, commonly referred to as stimulus checks. Under the… Read more
On March 20 of this year, the IRS announced that as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 tax deadline would be moved from the typical filing date of April 15 to July 15. Following… Read more
In the last week of February 2020, stock markets worldwide reported their largest one-week decline since the 2008 financial crisis, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 falling by 12%… Read more
During the 2008 Great Recession, well-known startups like WhatsApp, Venmo and Slack were founded. In the face of an impending COVID-19 recession, some optimists have looked to these successful… Read more
Almost one in every 25 households in America consists of three or more generations living under the same roof. Specifically, in 2018, of the roughly 122 million households in the U.S., about 4.61… Read more
Since mid-March as the coronavirus pandemic has intensified, there have been four straight record weeks for jobless claims filed in the U.S. – a fact that increases economic uncertainty and makes it… Read more
When it comes to taxes, is it more advantageous to get married or stay single? As far as the IRS is concerned, your income and location can ultimately determine whether a union is for richer or… Read more
Coronavirus cases in the U.S. have continued to rise in recent weeks, in turn causing federal, state and local governments to urge their constituents to stay home and practice social distancing. Many… Read more
Last Thursday, the Department of Labor reported that 3.28 million people filed for unemployment insurance for the week ending March 21, 2020. This was the highest historical number of new claims in a… Read more
In a survey of economists conducted by the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business at the beginning of March 2020, more than half of participants expected COVID-19 to cause a major recession… Read more
About 7.31 million Americans were employed in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) occupations in 2018, an increase of 7.48% from 2014, when there were 6.80 million STEM workers. Those… Read more
Despite the aging of the American workforce, with adults 65 and older twice as likely to be working now compared to 1985, Census data shows that one in four workers in 2018 was still younger than the… Read more
With online and mobile banking increasing in popularity, physical banks have struggled to keep their doors open. Over the past five years, the number of branch locations in America declined by 7%.… Read more
In 2018, roughly 930,000 people ages 60 and older moved across state lines, an increase of about 16% from five years earlier. Whatever reasons factor into their decisions, whether financial or… Read more
According to 2018 Census data, women make about 80% of what men make nationwide. The average full-time female worker earned $42,295, while the average full-time male worker earned $52,144. Though… Read more
Since household formation often alters spending patterns, one of the best ways to isolate differences in spending between the sexes is by comparing singles. As millennials, born between 1981 and 1996… Read more
