Pew Research Center

A job seeker meets with a recruiter at a job fair in Carson, California, on June 30, 2026. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Amid reports of a tough job market and rising costs of living, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that majorities of Americans say young adults have it harder today financially than their parents’ generation did.

July 16, 2026 ☀️ Happy Thursday! The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information.

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum looks on during a daily press conference in Mexico City on Sept. 4, 2025. (Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images) After a year and a half in office, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum remains broadly popular in her country. However, Mexicans’ views of Sheinbaum and her left-leaning Morena party are more negative since last year, according to a spring Pew Research Center survey.

About this research This report from the Pew-Knight Initiative examines how Americans engage in public life across a range of activities, including politics, civic and community involvement, news consumption and religious participation. It analyzes how patterns of engagement, when clustered together, can form distinct groups within the U.S. public. It also explores how these engagement groups differ in their demographics, attitudes and levels of civic knowledge.

About this research This report from the Pew-Knight Initiative examines how Americans engage in public life across a range of activities, including politics, civic and community involvement, news consumption and religious participation. It analyzes how patterns of engagement, when clustered together, can form distinct groups within the U.S. public. It also explores how these engagement groups differ in their demographics, attitudes and levels of civic knowledge.

This is a Pew Research Center report from the Pew-Knight Initiative, a research program funded jointly by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Find related reports online at https://www.pewresearch.org/pew-knight/.

Pew Research Center illustration. Measuring Americans’ engagement in public life is complex and can’t be done using a single metric. Some people are very active in their community or church. Others closely follow the news and often discuss it with people around them. Still others engage in public life by other means, like donating to charity or volunteering for political campaigns.

About this research This report from the Pew-Knight Initiative examines how Americans engage in public life across a range of activities, including politics, civic and community involvement, news consumption and religious participation. It analyzes how patterns of engagement, when clustered together, can form distinct groups within the U.S. public. It also explores how these engagement groups differ in their demographics, attitudes and levels of civic knowledge.

SSRS conducted the Cross-Sectional Engagement Survey for Pew Research Center using address-based sampling and a multimode protocol. The survey was fielded from July 9 to Dec. 5, 2025. Participants were first mailed an invitation to complete an online survey. A paper survey was later mailed to those who did not respond. Additionally, the mailings provided participants a toll-free number to call if they preferred to take the survey over the phone with a live interviewer.

About this research This report from the Pew-Knight Initiative examines how Americans engage in public life across a range of activities, including politics, civic and community involvement, news consumption and religious participation. It analyzes how patterns of engagement, when clustered together, can form distinct groups within the U.S. public. It also explores how these engagement groups differ in their demographics, attitudes and levels of civic knowledge.