Employment and Labor Markets

This interactive tool allows users to explore how various policies to increase the federal minimum wage would affect earnings, employment, family income, and poverty.

From 1995 to 2018, the share of people ages 55 to 79 who were employed increased from 33 percent to 44 percent. CBO examines the changing demographic characteristics of older people and the effects several factors may have on their rate of employment.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour for most workers. In this report, CBO examines how increasing the federal minimum wage to $10, $12, or $15 per hour by 2025 would affect employment and family income.

This report examines how various demographic factors relate to labor force participation, how economic conditions are likely to affect that rate over the next decade, and what keeps people from participating in the labor force.

CBO analyzes the impact of retirement benefits on the federal budget and on the compensation, recruitment, and retention of its employees. It assesses the short-term and long-term effects of potential changes to those benefits.

From 2008 to 2015, male veterans ages 22 to 44 who left active-duty service after September 2001 had experiences in the labor market similar to those of civilian men, although the youngest veterans had somewhat higher unemployment rates.

During the 2011-2015 period, the difference between the wages, benefits, and total compensation of federal civilian employees and those of similar private-sector employees varied widely depending on the employees’ educational attainment.