Economics/Employment

• The November jobs report beat expectations. Dive into the numbers here. (USA Today)
• Does the jobs report give a complete employment picture? Forbes takes a look at the employment numbers and finds a large increase in low-quality, low-paying jobs. 

"A study by the Brookings Institute, a nonprofit public policy organization that conducts research to solve problems facing society, found that a large amount of the newly created positions are “low-wage” jobs. According to the report, low-wage workers make up a huge part of the workforce. A staggering amount of people—over 53 million; 44% of all workers ages 18 to 64 in the U.S.—earn low hourly wages."    

• Perhaps the new Job Quality Index is what we should be tracking. (Quartz)
• A closer look at employment numbers demonstrates that minimum wage increases have NOT led to the job losses many predicted. (Axios)
• Starbucks: love it or hate it, here is a fact that may make you love it more (or hate it less). Their gender and racial pay gap is non-existent. (Bloomberg)

Going Cashless 

• This article is on the long side, providing a great look at the history of cash, but might set up a great classroom debate on whether or not you spend more with cash or e-cash! (My (college) students' first assignment was to use cash only for two weeks as an experiment, and report on their experience.) (BBC)
• In Australia, parents seem to think that a cashless-society is going to hurt their children financially. They will be more likely to overspend, not understand the true value of money, and be subject to more financial scams. (Savings.com.au)

Paying for College

• This data got lots of press this week: more higher income students are taking on student debt. (Marketplace)

“There’s been an increase across the board, in all the income groups, but the biggest change in the amount of debt that students and families are taking on is from these upper-income families,” Delisle said. “They are now well in the lead in terms of how much they borrow.”

• 92% of homeowners have helped their adult children financially, according to new research by Unison. Read how “bank of Mom and Dad” is messing with their retirement. (PRNewswire)

Investing

• Is it time to move away from the 60-40 stock/bond split benchmark for individual investors? Should they be taking on more risk? (Quartz)

Cyber Monday

• Here is some advice on how reduce the distribution of your online spending activity when browsing online. (New York Times – subscription)
• See also this recent NGPF EdPuzzle on the topic.
• How much is spent on Cyber Monday? Apparently, this year was one for the record books this year. (Forbes)

These next two articles may make you rethink about how much/what you buy this holiday season when you consider the environmental impact of producing what you buy, and what happens to it when the recipient no longer wants it.

• What is the impact of the fashion industry on the environment? (WBUR)
• What happens to all those unwanted, underused gifts? (NPR) (IOW-just don’t buy the stuff to begin with)

Let’s finish the holiday shopping section and week’s list with this gem written by Richard Quinn for Humble Dollar. (Think about your January and February credit card statements before tapping or swiping that card!)

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