Beyond sponsoring little league teams and donating to community causes, local banks provide the credit and financial services that underpin a strong local business scene. When a bank branch closes, communities feel their absence keenly.

Get your backpacks ready, Econ Quiz readers. The school year is here, and this week’s quiz focuses on the annual back-to-school bump in retail sales. Back-to-school spending continues to grow each year. According to the National Retail Federation the average household spent $697 on back-to-school items in 2019, jumping to $849 in 2021, and $890 in 2023, for a market total of $41.5 billion in the 2023-24 school year.

Spend time at any backyard cook out this summer and the conversation will eventually turn to the high cost of housing. Indeed, according to the Zillow Home Value Index, the median value for homes in Wisconsin increased by 85% over the past eight years, or 8.0% annually, moving from $167,693 in 2016 to $311,591 in June of this year. Zillow estimated home values in Dane County increased by 77% overall, or 7.4% annually, over the same period, increasing to $438,450 from $247,251.

The Pew Research Center recently released its semi-regular report on income distribution across the United States. The report notes that the middle class makes up a smaller portion of households than it once did, in part because the proportion of households in the upper income group has increased from 11% in 1970 to 19% in 2023, but also because the proportion of households in the lower income group has grown from 27% to 30% of U.S. household in that same time period.

The expansion of the state’s broadband fiber optic network, the continued growth in the number of wind farms, and the ongoing need to maintain our electrical grid means that there are good career paths for graduates who are interested in occupations related to our electrical and information infrastructure.

Over the past ten years, from 2013 through 2023, businesses with fewer than 249 employees accounted for roughly 46% of the workforce and created about 55% of all new jobs in the U.S.

Women have made significant strides toward equitable representation in the highest paying occupations in the United States. According to a recent publication by Pew Research Center, in 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, 35% of jobs in the ten highest paying occupations were held by women as compared to only 13% in 1980. In 2021, women were 40% of practicing lawyers (14% in 1980), 26% of actuaries (25% in 1980), and 29% of chief executives and public administrators (data not available for 1980).

It’s no secret that as children grow up they move in and out of stages of proclaimed independence. Seeking or receiving help from parents oscillates between being necessary when we are young, an embarrassment when we hit the pre-teens, and a true comfort when we become young adults. This econ quiz will delve into one of many facets of parental aid: financial.

This week’s econ quiz will take a closer look at consumer spending, for the nation’s largest consumer segment: Millennials.

Americans over age 65 are wealthier, healthier, and more educated than those in previous generations. This good fortune has coincided with societal changes that promote working longer. The age at which one can access social security has moved from 65 to 67. Most retirement plans replaced defined benefit pensions, which incentivize retirement at a certain age, with defined contribution plans, such as 401k or 403b plans, which incentivize longer participation in the workforce.

A recent Pew Research Center survey respondents were asked how likely they were to tip in a variety of scenarios. It’s probably not a surprise that 92% of Americans “always” or “often” tip while eating at a sit-down restaurant. The second most agreed upon tipping scenario was getting a haircut, with 78% of Americans “always” or “often” tipping.

On the heels of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the phrases “Great Resignation” and “quiet quitting” became part of our vocabulary. The first term described the unexpected churn in the labor market as quit rates hit a 20-year high in the spring of 2022. The second phrase has taken on many different meanings.