Unemployment

For years after the Great Recession, employers were reluctant to boost wages. Now a tight labor market is giving workers the leverage they need to demand a larger slice of the nation's economic pie.

U.S. unemployment is at a nearly 50-year low. The jobless rate for Hispanics has never been lower. The past two years have been the best job market ever for African Americans. Shouldn't we be excited?

Employers added far more jobs than expected in April — another sign the U.S. economy is chugging along as the expansion nears the 10-year mark. The unemployment rate was the lowest since 1969.

Job growth picked up for the 100th consecutive month even as hundreds of thousands of federal workers were furloughed during the partial government shutdown. Wage growth held steady.