Unemployment Drops to Lowest Level Since January 2009
The September jobs report, released this morning, showed that employers added 114,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate dropped from 8.1 percent to 7.8 percent, the lowest unemployment rate since January 2009. The report also revised the data from July and August to show that more jobs were added in those months than original reported.
U.S. Teen Birth Rate Declines
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that teenagers between 15 and 19 years of age gave birth to 329,797 children last year, the lowest number of teen births since 1946. The report also found that the teen birth rate and the teen abortion rate have decreased as well. The report attributes the decline in teen birth and abortion rates to more effective contraception use. U.S. overall birth rates have also dropped, down for the fourth year now.
White House Announces New Commitments to Advance Women Worldwide
On Monday, the White House announced the launch of Equal Futures, a partnership between the United States and 12 countries to help empower and advance women and girls. Each country has made its own commitments to achieve this goal. The United States has pledged to expand opportunities for women in business, leadership, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and to promote economic security for domestic violence survivors. Partners will share updates and progress at the World Bank Spring Meetings in April 2013.