Boston Fed
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Soft skills, strong futures: Preparing young workers for today’s labor market
Exploring youth workforce development programs at Federal Reserve Banks and their important emphasis on soft skills.
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“Not one story, but many”: Fed policymakers enhance their understanding of rural economies through outreach
Fed Reserve leaders continue to deepen their knowledge about challenges and opportunities in rural parts of the country.
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Community perspectives and conditions from the Fed’s Beige Book, July 2026
Communities nationwide are dealing with higher costs, limited affordable housing, workforce shifts, and less funding for training. Some workers now value stability more than advancement, while employers focus on hiring candidates with strong soft skills and offer job training.
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Where Are the Underbanked Areas?
This data tool can help organizations (financial institutions, community organizations, researchers and policymakers) identify where unbanked and underbanked households live, which financial services they use, and key demographic patterns.
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The Quarterly Catch-up, Q2 2026
Check out the latest community development-related research, analyses, and articles from all 12 Federal Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors. This post captures content published between April 1 and June 2026, on topics affecting communities.
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Community perspectives and conditions from the Fed’s Beige Book, April 2026
Inflation is driving increases in the utilization of support services, spending on credit, and restructuring debt. As one contact noted, lower- and middle-income households “can’t out-budget low wages, tariffs, and inflation.”
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How the Fed studies and understands housing’s key role in the economy
The cost and availability of housing affect family budgets, labor force mobility, business growth, and the health of the economy. Learn how the Fed studies and engages with communities around vital housing trends, challenges, and innovations.
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Community perspectives and conditions from the Fed’s Beige Book, February 2026
Community contacts report that rising costs for food, housing, and energy have strained low- and moderate-income communities and nonprofits, while rural hospitals face financial risks. Stable employment for some helped ease economic anxiety, contacts noted. But vulnerable groups and small businesses remained stressed under increasing costs, according to observations for the February 2026 Beige Book.
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Small business strategies for supporting employee child care needs
Small businesses employ nearly half of private-sector workers but often have limited resources to offer benefits like child care. This article examines the prevalence of employer-supported child care and the practical strategies small businesses employ to support working parents.
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The Quarterly Catch-up, Q4 2025
Check out the latest community development-related research, analyses, and articles from all 12 Federal Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors. This post captures content published between October 1 and December 31, 2025, on topics affecting communities.