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Rachel Barber on Muck Rack

Rachel Barber

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Washington, D.C.
As seen in: USA Today, MSN, MSN Ireland, Yahoo Entertainment, Yahoo Life, Yahoo Canada, Yahoo News, Yahoo News Malaysia, Yahoo News New Zealand, Yahoo News UK, Yahoo Singapore and
Making sense of the economy @USATODAY | rbarber@usatoday.com | Signal: rachelbarber.44

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Rachel Barber’s Biography

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Rachel covers politics and education for USA TODAY. Before joining USA TODAY, she was the News Editor for The Daily Item, among other publications, for Essex Media Group in Lynn, Massachusetts. She has a political science and journalism degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Rachel is based in Washington D.C.

Articles

Americans' wealth and income are up, but credit card debt is too

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By Rachel Barber Verified
| USA Today Verified
Oct. 13, 2026, 3:32 p.m. ET Americans' wealth rose from 2022 to 2025 at a far slower pace than it did during the COVID-19 pandemic years, the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances revealed. From 2019 to 2022, the median net worth, or wealth, for American families surged 37% — the largest jump since the Fed began keeping track — as Americans received aid from the federal government while stock and home values soared.
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The Daily Money: Will stock market gains last?

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By Rachel Barber Verified
| USA Today Verified
Updated Oct. 5, 2026, 10:15 a.m. ET Good morning! It's Rachel Barber with your Daily Money. The S&P 500 is up about 13% year-to-date and trading near its record high, but can the gains last? Stocks are historically overpriced, fears about an "AI bubble" are growing, and traders are worried about soaring oil prices tied to the Iran war. When you add in rising bond yields and higher borrowing costs, it becomes clear why Americans are concerned.
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September jobs report shows 29k jobs added, unemployment at 4.2%

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By Rachel Barber Verified
| MSN Verified
The Labor Department estimates U.S. employers added 29,000 jobs in September, a month when Federal Reserve officials viewed the labor market as stable even as economists said it remained challenging for unemployed workers to break in. Payroll gains for past months were revised down, reflecting fewer summer hires than previously reported. The department now estimates U.S. employers added 133,000 jobs in August and lost 10,000 jobs in July.
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Interview

What was your first job as a journalist?

My first job as a journalist was for Essex Media Group in Lynn, MA. I worked as a reporter for a year before being promoted to news editor.