National

Vitals

Axios Vitals

America's work perk boom meets reality

Macro

Axios Macro

How Jerome Powell navigated pandemic, inflation and Trump

College-educated fathers are stepping it up at home

A bar chart that compares changes in weekly paid work and child care or housework hours for college-educated parents in 2017-19 versus 2022-24. Fathersâ paid work fell 5.96 hours while their unpaid work rose 4.43 hours. Mothers were nearly unchanged, at plus 0.11 and minus 0.1 hours.

Change in hours college-educated parents spent doing paid and unpaid work 

Data: American Time Use Survey via American Institute for Boys and Men; Note: Covers partnered parents with at least one child under age 6; Chart: Emily Peck/Axios

Iran war energy shock squeezes U.S. paychecks

A line chart that compares monthly year-over-year changes in consumer prices and average hourly earnings from January 2021 to April 2026. CPI rises from 1.4% to a peak of 9% in June 2022, then eases to 2.3% in April 2025 before reaching 3.8% in April 2026. Wage growth peaks at 5.9% in March 2022.

Year-over-year change in wages vs. inflation

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Axios Visuals

Motherhood's costly rewards

America's job market optimism gap is the worst in the world

A line chart that shows the share of Americans ages 15-34, 35-54 and 55 and older who say it is a good time to find a job from 2007 to 2025. All groups fell in 2009, to 24%, 11% and 9%, peaked in 2019-22, then declined by 2025.

Share of Americans who say now is a good time to find a job, by age

Whats Next

Axios What's Next

As robotaxis spread, luxury may soon mean having a human driver

Labor market holds steady through Iran, AI turbulence

A column chart that shows monthly changes in nonfarm payroll employment from April 2025 to April 2026. Payrolls rose 108,000 in April 2025, fell as low as minus 156,000 in February 2026, then reached a high of 185,000 in March 2026. The data alternates between gains and losses.

Change in nonfarm payroll employment

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Neil Irwin/Axios

U.S. economy adds 115,000 jobs in April, while jobless rate holds steady

U.S. adds 115,000 jobs in April, but jobless rate steady

A column chart that shows monthly changes in U.S. nonfarm payroll employment from August 2025 to April 2026. Payrolls ranged from a low of minus 156,000 in February 2026 to a high of 185,000 in March 2026. The data alternates between gains and losses before ending with a 115,000 increase in April.

Change in U.S. nonfarm payroll employment

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Courtenay Brown/Axios

Closer

Axios Closer

Corporate America shrugging off economic uncertainty as earnings deliver

Corporate America shrugging off economic uncertainty

Back to Economy

The developments that matter in where and how much people are working.