Editor's note

The booming U.S. economy is creating some of the best conditions for job seekers since the 1960s. The Department of Labor reported yesterday that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits reached an almost 49-year low, signaling that the jobless rate is likely to continue to drop from its current level of 3.9 percent. Is a zero percent unemployment rate possible? Jay Zagorsky, who practices the “dismal science” of economics at Boston University, explains what the unemployment rate actually measures.

Flexible – even foldable – electronics are the next frontier of mobile devices and “internet of things” sensors. Battery researcher Seokheun Choi from Binghamton University explains how his work will help power those gadgets.

And as the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to hear testimony regarding an allegation that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a girl when he was a teen, violence experts David Finkelhor and Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan share six key facts you should know about sexual assault between adolescents.

Bryan Keogh

Economics + Business Editor

Top stories

Students graduate. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Why the unemployment rate will never get to zero percent – but it could still go a lot lower

Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University

With the unemployment rate at about the lowest level in almost 50 years, how much lower could it go? An economist explains.

A foldable, biodegradable battery based on paper and bacteria opens a new opportunity in electronics. Seokheun Choi/Binghamton University

Paper-based electronics could fold, biodegrade and be the basis for the next generation of devices

Seokheun Choi, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Paper-based devices with foldable, biodegradable batteries provide a new way to reduce electronic waste. But how would these new gadgets work?

Sexual assault among adolescents is common.

Sexual assault among adolescents: 6 facts

David Finkelhor, University of New Hampshire; Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan, University of New Hampshire

Data reveal that sexual assault is common among boys and girls under the age of 18. Sexual violence experts share key facts from research on the issue.

Science + Technology

Politics + Society

Education

Health + Medicine

  • Before the fall: How oldsters can avoid one of old age’s most dangerous events

    Matthew Lee Smith, Texas A&M University ; Ellen Schneider, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Marcia G. Ory, Texas A&M University ; Tiffany Shubert, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    Saturday isn't just the first day of fall. It's also the 10th annual National Falls Prevention Awareness Day. Falls are a major cause of disability in seniors. Experts explain ways to prevent them.

Arts + Culture

Environment + Energy

From our International Editions

Today’s chart