The sun is rising over south Fort Worth. The tinny “clink” of soda cans hitting the pavement, jettisoned from trash in a dumpster, and the thundering sound of trash bins rolling across asphalt make it hard to hear Nicole, the litter crew supervisor for Clean Slate. Nicole is quiet, serious, and reserved—no nonsense.

MISSION VIEJO, Calif.—On a warm midsummer afternoon, dozens of parents arranged their brightly colored umbrellas along the soccer pitch at Capistrano Valley High School (CVHS). Many left work to mark the beginning of a series of “lasts”: their sons’ last soccer season, the last set of school pictures, and all too soon, the last day of high school.

But these parents were worried about more than letting go. Many were also concerned that their teens are not exchanging “lasts” for crucial “firsts”—more specifically, their first job.

Economists are hailing Friday’s jobs report as good news for the U.S. economy. Employers added 222,000 jobs in June, the most in four months. Companies’ willingness to continue hiring signals confidence in continued growth, despite its relatively slow pace, analysts say. June’s unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent, but that’s because more people started looking for jobs and not all of them found employment. The number of working Americans reached 60.1 percent, a slight dip from April, which showed the highest number since the recession ended in 2009.

Can a business ever hit more than one bottom line? Farm 360 in Indianapolis hopes to do so. The new business wants to make a profit, give nearby residents in a tough neighborhood a second chance at jobs, and offer organic fresh food products in the Indy marketplace.

The job opportunity has worked well for Greg Rusk. He joined the new venture less than two years ago, after serving time behind bars for driving under the influence.

MILWAUKEE & SHEBOYGAN, Wis.—Milwaukee native Christopher Lane avoided some of the common pitfalls of his inner-city upbringing, but fell into others. Although his parents were married for most of his childhood, their conflict and repeated separation deeply affected him. He largely avoided drugs but spent more than 20 years behind bars for armed robberies in 1989 and 1993.

The City Council of Chicago voted Tuesday to establish a citywide minimum wage of $13 per hour by 2019. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat who faces reelection in February, has championed the increase as a poverty-fighting measure. But critics worry it will drive job-creating businesses out of town.

President Barack Obama continued to push for national paid maternity leave in a speech this week, but he hasn’t proposed any plans to achieve it. While his supporters cheer the idea, some economists warn that legally mandating maternity leave will have unintended consequences for women and working families.