For the past two years, state and local governments have been a major force in the job market, hiring new employees at a pace not seen in decades and helping drive the nation’s overall employment ...

Most public pension plans without Social Security coverage—which account for about 27% of state and local workers, including 40% of teachers—fail to meet The Pew Charitable Trusts’ guidelines for ...

State population growth has steadily accelerated from the record lows of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 42 states’ populations rising faster in 2024 than they did over the preceding 15 years (2009 to ...

Federal dollars are the second-largest source of funding for state governments, historically ranging from about a quarter to a third of total state revenue. In fiscal year 2024, Medicaid—which ...

Retirement security depends on individuals saving for their future, but millions of Americans lack access to an employer-provided savings plan that might help them do so. Research shows that workers ...

Bank overdraft fees are back in the news. Designed in the late 1960s to help customers avoid bounced checks, overdraft—when banks allow payments (for a fee) even though customers don’t have enough in ...

This article is the third in a three-part series looking at issues surrounding debt lawsuits in state courts. Medical debt reforms recently enacted in statehouses across the country represent ...

The research found that although screening and treatment practices for SUD and suicidality differ, adults with disabilities experience many of the same obstacles to accessing services for both SUD and ...

The historic, devastating wildfires that ravaged the Los Angeles area in January—destroying homes, communities, businesses, and lives—have once again elevated the need for state lawmakers and ...

The International Seabed Authority (ISA), which governs deep-sea mining in international waters, could face its first application for seabed mining this year, despite the fact that it has not yet ...

A state of emergency—including those caused by natural disasters such as the recent wildfires around Los Angeles—can have serious implications for access to treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs ...

A toolkit assembled by The Pew Charitable Trusts in 2024 can help state policymakers, policy analysts, and the public better understand the economic development incentives offered by their states and ...