Juliana Kaplan

Juliana Kaplan is a senior labor and inequality reporter on the economy team, where she covers the labor force, inequality, the minimum wage, and the people behind the numbers. She was previously the Associate Editor for Contributors on the Strategy team, where she coordinated freelancers, contributed pieces, and books coverage. She started at Business Insider as the Editorial Fellow for Contributors. Before working at Business Insider, she worked as an editorial intern at Cosmopolitan Magazine, Boston Magazine, O, the Oprah Magazine, and several others. She graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in English, concentrating in Creative Writing. You can email her at jkaplan@businessinsider.com, or follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn. Minimum-wage workers and activists say $15 an hour is a moral and economic imperative A $15 minimum wage would barely hurt business and be life-changing for many workers The economic prospects of rich and poor Americans had long been diverging. The pandemic finally completed the break. We now live in the Unemployed States of America. Here are 50 stories of life without a paycheck in 2020. Chicago teachers follow up a historic 2019 strike with a 2020 ultimatum: Schools won't open in person Why a $685 e-scooter was my best quarantine purchase Martin Luther King III on why voting is anti-racist, his father's legacy, and the role of looting during protests The class of 2020 on what it's like to face down crumbling colleges, a frozen job market, and COVID-19 disrupting your entry into adulthood Meet the millennials who suddenly doubled their wealth in the last 4 years after an adulthood plagued by bad economic luck Millennials' average wealth doubled in the last four years, leaving some surprised to realize that they're suddenly doing very well. Gen X can add one more financial problem to its list Gen Xers were already worried about their financial insecurity. Enter Social Security. Many Americans have no idea how much they need to save for retirement — and the calculus is getting even more complicated Knowing how much to save for retirement is already a gamble. Inflation and the uncertainty of Social Security are making it even harder to calculate. Americans will lose full Social Security benefits in 11 years, according to the program's trustees — a year later than expected The latest report on the future of Social Security detailed the program's ability to pay out full benefits as a retirement crisis looms. It's getting really hard to find a job that pays well Job growth is booming in low-paying, traditionally female industries, but high-paying roles might be harder to find. The job market is starting to show cracks. Hiring fell short of expectations for the first time in 6 months. The unemployment rate increased from 3.8% in March to 3.9% in April. The US also added 175,000 jobs, far below the forecast. New York offers the worst cost-of-living tradeoff of any major city for new college grads. Starting salaries go further in these 14 metros. New graduates' salaries go the furthest in Austin and Atlanta, but more of them are still moving to New York. Move over, New York and San Francisco, the US's major job hubs are now cities like Charleston and Hilton Head, South Carolina As people have fled expensive coastal cities for cheaper housing and cost of living in the Sunbelt in particular, employers have followed. Meet the Gen Zers struggling to stay in work or school — and the parents who are at a loss for how to help A rising number of America's young people are disconnected from work, school, and a sense of purpose. A flurry of new rules from the Biden administration attempt to ban noncompetes, boost overtime pay, and increase refunds for delayed flights The Biden administration introduced new rules aiming to hand some power back to workers, but business groups are gearing up to challenge them. The 'peak boomer' crisis might only get worse: A fifth of Americans 50 and up have no retirement savings, and the majority are worried they won't have enough money Many Americans headed toward retirement don't have the funds. It could contribute to the peak boomer crisis. Millennial wealth is booming. It turns out avocado toast didn't tank them after all. It turns out that, after killing off brands and choosing avocado toast over homeownership, millennials are getting wealthy. Meet the typical new entrepreneur: A young woman living in the South who's doing it as a side hustle American's newest entrepreneurs are increasingly likely to be women, immigrants, living in the South, and doing their business as a side hustle. Welcome to 'peak boomer' era: A wave of retirees is about to blow through their savings and cling to Social Security to stay afloat While more older boomers tend to have a pension, a looming wave of younger retirees are about to strain the economy and Social Security. More and more Americans are becoming 'ALICEs.' They can't afford rent and groceries but are falling through the cracks in the country's safety net. The share of Americans in poverty has been falling, but more are stuck living paycheck to paycheck. What happens when Taylor Swift wears your brand? One business reached its monthly sales goal in a day. Taylor Swift fans often see something she's wearing and think, "you belong with me." The 'disconnected youth' movement is growing as more Gen Zers struggle to find purpose at school and work A Gallup survey finds Gen Z increasingly anxious, especially regarding purpose at work or school, though overall happiness remains high. 13 cities where hiring is growing — Florida and Texas lead, while the coasts are declining Hiring is increasing in smaller cities like Boise and large hubs in Florida and Texas like Orlando and San Antonio, according to a Gusto analysis. The Jamie Dimon manifesto It's a policy proposal fit for a presidential run.