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The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday with inflation back under control and the economy weathering Trumps tariff onslaught better than expected. The banks rate-setting council left its benchmark deposit rate unchanged at 2% at a meeting at its skyscraper headquarters in Frankfurt. The focus in Europe has shifted to the fiscal crisis in France and any possible role for the ECB in containing potential market turmoil that could erupt from the countrys out-of-control deficit and political logjam. Bank President Christine Lagarde said after the rate decision that monetary policy was in a good place and that decisions are being made meeting by meeting.” She gave no hint of future moves, saying the bank is not on a predetermined path.” The ECB is standing pat on interest rates even as the US Federal Reserve has held the door open for a possible cut at its Sept. 17 meeting. The 20 countries that use the euro currency and where the ECB sets rate policy showed 0.1% growth in the second quarter over the quarter before, not great but not sliding into outright recession either despite the disruption from U.S. President Donald Trumps new and higher tariffs. The S&P Global survey of purchasing managers, a key indicator of economic activity, came in at 51 in August, with readings over 50 indicating expansion. The EUs executive commission calmed the mood somewhat by negotiating a 15% ceiling on US tariffs, or import taxes, on European goods brought into the US. While thats far higher than pre-Trump tariff levels, Trump had threatened even higher rates and the deal gives some certainty that trade will continue, albeit with higher costs. “Trade uncertainty has clearly diminished, Lagarde said. The ECBs deposit rate influences borrowing costs throughout the economy. The ECB raised rates sharply to combat a burst of inflation in 2021-23, and has since lowered them as inflation came back under control and concerns grew about growth. Higher rates fight inflation but can slow growth, while lower rates can stimulate economic activity by making borrowing cheaper for purchases. Eurozone inflation was 2.1% in August, roughly in line with the banks target of 2%. With growth holding up, that means there was no great pressure to move rates Thursday. Analysts think another cut is possible in coming months. Lagarde was asked several times about the French government’s fiscal crisis. The French governments bond-market borrowing costs have risen somewhat due to the inability of a divided parliament to tackle the large deficit, which was 5.8% of GDP last year. In case of a full-blown market panic that sends rates higher, the ECB could intervene to purchase French bonds and drive down borrowing costs. But thats only possible for countries that are obeying the EUs rules on limiting debt or are moving to comply, which France at this point is not. Lagarde said the ECB’s emergency bond market backstop, dubbed the transmission protection instrument, was not discussed at the meeting and that the broader European bond market was functioning normally. Im not commenting on any particular country, but suffice to say that we always monitor market developments and euro area sovereign bonds are orderly and are functioning smoothly with good liquidity, she said. Analysts say the challenge for Lagarde is to avoid suggesting the ECB would bail out politicians who wont manage the governments finances properly, while not taking such a hard line that she unsettles bond markets. David McHugh, AP business writer
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Income inequality dipped, more people had college degrees, fewer people moved to a different home and the share of Asian and Hispanic residents increased in the United States last year, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. These year-to-year changes, big and small, from 2023 to 2024 were captured in the bureau’s data from the American Community Survey, the largest annual audit of American life. The survey of 3.5 million households asks about more than 40 topics, including income, housing costs, veterans status, computer use, commuting, and education. Here’s a look at how the United States changed last year. Income inequality dips Income inequality or the gap between the highest and lowest earners in the United States fell nationwide by nearly a half percent from 2023 to 2024, as median household income rose slightly, from $80,002 to $81,604. Five Midwestern states Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin had statistically significant dips, along with Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Puerto Rico. North Carolina was the only state to see a statistically significant rise in inequality. North Carolina State economist Michael Walden said it reflected the state generating high-paying jobs in tech and other professional sectors, while the post-pandemic labor shortage which raised wages in lower-paying service jobs had ended. In South Dakota, which had a leading 4% drop, the inequality dip could reflect stronger growth in the household income among lower and middle income households (or smaller growth in the income of the highest brackets), state demographer Weiwei Zhang said Wednesday in an email. In Nebraska, it could be high employment rates across all demographic groups since high employment leads to income, thus less income inequality, said Josie Schafer, director of the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska Omaha. In Massachusetts, one of the traditional strengths of the state’s economy high-paying jobs in life science, high tech and research has been sluggish in the past two years, said Mark Melnik, director of economic and public policy research at a University of Massachusetts Amherst institute. The typical jobs in this industry are the kind of thing that helps Massachusetts have the highest per capita (income) in the country but also exacerbates some elements of income inequality, Melnik said. Greater diversity and fewer people married The United States became more demographically diverse, and fewer people were married from 2023 to 2024. The non-Hispanic white population, who identify with only a single race, dropped from 57.1% to 56.3%, while the share of the nation’s Asian population rose from 6% to 6.3% and the Hispanic population rose from 19.4% to 20%. The rate of the Black population stayed the same at 12.1%, as did the American Indian Alaska Native alone population at 1%. In the marriage department, the share of men who have never married increased from 37.2% to 37.6%, and it rose from 31.6% to 32.1% for women. Fewer people moved, as costs of renting and owning homes rose Last year, only 11% of U.S. residents moved to another home, compared to 11.3% in the previous year. The decline of people moving this decade has been part of a continuous slide as home prices have skyrocketed in some metros and interest rates have gone up. In 2019, by comparison, 13.7% of U.S. residents moved. The monthly costs for U.S. homeowners with a mortgage rose to $2,035 from $1,960. Homeowners with a mortgage in California ($3,001), Hawaii ($2,937), New Jersey ($2,797), Massachusetts ($2,755), and the District of Columbia ($3,181) had the highest median monthly costs. Costs for renters also increased as the median rent with utilities went from $1,448 to $1,487. Mike Schneider, Associated Press
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When working parents consider going part-time, the question often sounds straightforward: Should I cut back my hours? But beneath that lies a tangle of deeper issuesidentity, ambition, money, family dynamics, and long-term career trajectory. Its rarely just about schedules or paychecks. For some, the hope is relief from burnout or more presence with loved ones. For others, its a way to preserve their career by making it sustainable. Yet without clarity and intentional boundaries, part-time can just as easily create new pressures as it relieves old ones. Here are some things to consider before making the decision: {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/acupofambition_logo.jpg","headline":"A Cup of Ambition","description":"A biweekly newsletter for high-achieving moms who value having a meaningful career and being an involved parent, by Jessica Wilen. To learn more visit acupofambition.substack.com.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/acupofambition.substack.com","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}} Start by naming what youre really after When someone tells me theyre thinking about going part-time, my first question is always: What do you hope this will give you? Sometimes the answer is obvious: more time with children, space to care for aging parents, recovery from burnout. Other times its murkier: a sense that life is slipping by too quickly, or that work has crowded out everything else that matters. Its important to pause here. Because part-time is not a silver bullet. Working fewer hours wont automatically create balance, ease guilt, or generate fulfillment. In fact, unless youre clear about what you want to gainand disciplined about how youll use that timethe space you carve out can quickly fill with the same obligations, distractions, and patterns that left you depleted in the first place. Ive seen people go part-time only to spend their free hours running errands, fielding work emails, or taking on invisible labor at home. Instead of relief, they feel even more fragmented. Thats why it helps to move beyond the surface question of Should I reduce my hours? and toward the deeper one: What is the life I want to create, and will going part-time bring me closer to it? Questions to reflect on: If I start working part-time, what exactly am I doing with the hours Ive freed up? Am I seeking relief from something (stress, overwork, burnout), or am I moving toward something (a passion project, deeper presence with family)? Would going part-time actually address the tension I feel, or am I hoping it will solve a deeper dissatisfaction with my work? The practical realities (and the myths) Theres the fantasy of part-timeleisurely mornings, meaningful afternoons, a career that flexes gracefully around life. And then theres the reality. In some workplaces, part-time can mean doing nearly the same work in fewer hours, with less pay. Unless responsibilities are explicitly renegotiated, reduced hours often become compressed hours where the same expectations are squeezed into a smaller container. The result? More stress, not less. This is why clarity and boundary-setting matter so much. Without a realignment of duties, you may find yourself trapped in what I call the illusion of part-timeofficially working 60 or 80%, but in practice carrying the same mental load, answering emails on your days off, and constantly feeling like youre falling short both at work and at home. It can leave you not only exhausted, but resentful. Questions to reflect on: If I reduce my hours, what tasks or responsibilities must I explicitly let go of? Who will need to adjust their expectations of me, and how willing are they to do so? How comfortable am I with disappointing others in order to protect the boundaries of a part-time schedule? The dollars and cents of it all Finances often make this decision feel tangible. A reduced salary is the most obvious consequence, but the subtler effects are equally important: diminished retirement savings, lower Social Security accrual, or loss of employer-sponsored benefits. These ripple effects compound over time. That said, some professionals discover that once they account for reduced childcare, commuting, or outsourcing, the trade-off is manageable. Others find the long-term cost outweighs the short-term relief. The question is not simply Can we afford it? but also What does this financial decision represent about what we value? Questions to reflect on: What would I need to give up financially, and does that feel tolerable or destabilizing? How do I weigh immediate well-being against long-term financial security? When I think about money, am I motivated more by fear of loss or by desire for freedom? The psychological adjustment Even when the numbers work, the inner shift can be surprisingly difficult. For many high achievers, work is not just a job, its a primary source of identity. Going part-time can feel like a loss of status, relevance, or ambition. Ive seen professionals struggle with a quiet internal voice: Am I still serious about my career? Will people think Im less committed? Am I letting down my colleagues? Sometimes, they try to silence these doubts by working just as much in fewer hours, overcompensating to prove their worth. That undermines the very reason for going part-time in the first place. This is where mindset matters. Part-time work requires redefining successnot by how many hours you log, but by how you use them. It requires tolerating the discomfort of doing less, while holding onto the bigger truth: that stepping back can be a strategic, intentional act, not a retreat. Questions to reflect on: How much of my self-worth is tied to being constantly available and productive? What fears come up when I imagine saying no or being less visible at work? Can I imagine new ways of defining professional success that dont hinge on hours logged? The family system Many women I work with often imagine that part-time work will instantly create harmony at home. More time for children, more support for a partner, more balance. And sometimes it does. But it can also surface new tensions. If one partner reduces hours, assumptions about who shoulders domestic labor may shiftsometimes explicitly, but often invisibly. Children may not respond the way you imagine; more presence doesnt automatically translate ino more connection. And caregiving for elders can quickly exceed the hours youve carved out. That doesnt mean the choice is wrong. It simply means it requires explicit conversations. What will this change look like day-to-day? How will household responsibilities shift? What do family members hope forand what do they fear? These conversations may be just as important as the HR paperwork. Questions to reflect on: What assumptions might my partner or children make if Im home more? How do I want to use the time at home and what boundaries will I set there? What conversations do we need to have as a family about expectations, roles, and values? Career trajectory For ambitious professionals, the biggest fear is often: What will this do to my career? And the honest answer is: it depends. The hard truth is that, in some fields, part-time status is stigmatized. Colleagues may equate fewer hours with lesser commitment. Promotions or leadership opportunities may be harder to come by. In other fields, performance matters more than face time, and part-time professionals continue to advance. But heres a reframe I often share with clients: Going part-time doesnt have to mean stepping off the track. It can mean running the race at your own pace. It can mean preserving your career by making it sustainable. It can even mean broadening your definition of achievement to include the personal, not just the professional. What matters is intentionality. If you see part-time as a failure, others may too. If you frame it as a strategic decisiona way to align your work with your values and capacitiesit is more likely to be respected. Questions to reflect on: What career opportunities might I forgo by going part-time, and am I comfortable with that? How do I want to explain this decisionto myself, to colleagues, to mentorsso it reflects strength, not retreat? What kind of long-term professional identity do I want to build, and does part-time support that vision? Alternatives worth exploring Its also worth asking: Do you need part-time, or do you need something else? Sometimes what people truly want is not fewer hours but greater autonomy. A flexible schedule. The ability to work remotely part of the week. A job crafted to shed responsibilities that drain energy but dont add value. In some cases, those adjustments can deliver as much relief as going part-time, with fewer trade-offs. Part-time can be the right choice. But its one option among many. Exploring the full menu can prevent premature decisions. In closing The decision to go part-time is rarely just about schedules. It reaches into questions of identity, ambition, money, relationships, and what it means to build a sustainable life. The goal isnt to settle the question once and for all, but to respond to the realities of this moment. Life has seasons, and work can too. A part-time schedule may be exactly the right fit for a while, and then lose its utility. Full-time may feel overwhelming at one stage, and energizing at another. The point is not permanence, but responsiveness. So instead of asking only, should I go part-time?, consider asking: What do I need in this season to make my work and life more sustainable? Your answer may shift over time, and thats the point. These choices can ebb and flow with you. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/acupofambition_logo.jpg","headline":"A Cup of Ambition","description":"A biweekly newsletter for high-achieving moms who value having a meaningful career and being an involved parent, by Jessica Wilen. To learn more visit acupofambition.substack.com.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/acupofambition.substack.com","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}}
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