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By 2050, demographic shifts could mean a very different global economy

Aug 10, 2023
Today, nearly a third of Japan's population is over the age of 65. Compared to how much wealthy nations' populations will age in the coming decades though, Japan "is only the tip of the iceberg" says New York Times journalist Lauren Leatherby.
Wealthy economies like those in Europe and East Asia are going to be facing a much smaller working-age population within the next few decades.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Spike in new households adds to rent, home price increases

May 29, 2023
As of 2020, people living alone made up 27% of new households. That trend has been accelerating.
An apartment building in Manhattan, New York City, seeks renters. More Americans are forming their own households than in previous decades.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Young adults are driving a boom in household growth

Jan 18, 2023
A growing proportion of the housing market is being taken over by millennials, according to new data.
The housing market is becoming increasingly flush with younger buyers, many of them millennials, according to new housing data.
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U.S. census prepares for a digital count

Aug 12, 2019
The 2020 census will be the first to seek information online on a wide scale.
Forms for the 2010 census.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

For many businesses, good census data is the benchmark

Apr 22, 2019
What happens when the numbers aren't accurate?
Forms for Census 2010 are displayed during an event to promote the census on April 1, 2010 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

How immigration could help a shrinking American labor force

Young, productive workers "are the new scarce resource," one expert says.
Immigrants stand for the national anthem before becoming American citizens. Chris Farrell says that datasets often underestimate the positive impact immigrants have on the economy.
John Moore/Getty Images

Why declining birth rates are a phenomenon in developing countries

Jan 25, 2019
As part of our mini-series on fertility, we talk to a demographer about why fertility rates are declining in developing countries.
As part of our mini-series on fertility, we talk to a demographer about why fertility rates are declining in developing countries. 
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For public good, not for profit.

Why do marketers group the public into age categories?

Mar 2, 2018
The Pew Research Center has decided the term millennial is only going to apply to people who were born between 1981 and 1996 … but who made Pew the decider? And what’s the economic value of a demographic label anyway? Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

As the workforce ages, companies rethink retirement

Jul 28, 2017
More people and companies are looking at the benefits of a flexible approach to work.
Marketplace's Chris Farrell discusses a new report on how policymakers and businesses can maximize the economic benefits of an older workforce.
Mychele Daniau/AFP/Getty Images

The shifting U.S. working class

Jun 9, 2016
A new report finds the U.S. working class will be majority non-white by 2032.
The overall U.S. population is expected to become majority-minority in 2043.
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