Young adults steer away from driving
Growing up, there were two milestones that couldn’t come fast enough: receiving your driver’s license at 16 and being of legal drinking age at 21. In what could be unfortunate news for automakers, though, there is less interest in the former, specifically among millennials.
A recent study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute found 76.7% of 20- to 24-year-olds had a driver’s license in 2014, a steady decline from 91.8% in 1983. Likewise, only 24.5% of 16-year-olds had a driver’s license in 2014, down from 46.2% in 1983.
While the study didn’t offer reasons for the decline, it’s possible the popularity of ride-sharing services, city living and the increasing cost of new vehicles could be at fault. (The average price of a new vehicle in 2015 was up 20% from 2005, according to Edmunds.com analysts.)
The reality of artifıcial intelligence
Robotics is poised to change the world, but at a price.
By 2020, automation and robots will eliminate 5.1 million jobs globally, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. The jobs most at risk are office and administrative roles, which are expected to be affected by “a perfect storm of technological trends,” the report reads. Those trends include the mobile Internet, cloud technology and big-data analytics.
Other sectors that also stand to lose jobs include manufacturing and production, construction and extraction, installation and maintenance, and the arts and entertainment.
Conversely, sectors expected to see job growth include business and financial operations, management, computer and mathematical, and architecture and engineering.
Big pay plans from a big-box store
Having long faced criticism from labor activists, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is boosting the pay of more than 1.2 million Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club employees. The increase is part of the company’s two-year, $2.7 billion investment in its workers.
Changes, effective Feb. 20, include:
- All associates hired before Jan. 1, 2016, will earn at least $10 an hour.
- New entry-level employees will still start at $9 an hour and move to at least $10 an hour after successfully completing the company’s new training program.
- Employees already earning more than $10 an hour will receive an annual pay increase in February rather than waiting until their anniversary date.
With these changes, Wal-Mart’s average full-time hourly wage will be $13.38 an hour. The average part-time hourly wage will be $10.58 an hour.
You're Hired
Oregon was the top moving destination—for the third year in a row—in 2015, according to a study of 123,000 moves from United Van Lines. The draw? More jobs, a lower cost of living and a warmer climate.
2.65 million —The number of jobs added in 2015, which marked the second best year of job gains since 1999, CNN reports. Most business areas added jobs, but the big winners in December were construction, health care and business services.
2x —The number of solar jobs in the United States has more than doubled in fıve years. The solar industry added 35,000 jobs in 2015, up 20% from 2014, according to the Solar Foundation, a nonprofıt in Washington, D.C.
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