Want to grow the economy? Want to boost your company's bottom line? Hire more women and make it easier for them and for men to work full-time while balancing family commitments. 
 
 That's just one key takeaway from a McKinsey Global Institute report released Thursday. 
 
 The report -- called The Power of Parity: Advancing Women's Equality in the United States -- estimates that the U.S. could grow the economy by an extra $2.1 trillion in gross domestic product over the next decade if the private sector, policy makers and non-profits make more of a concerted effort to narrow the gender gap at work. 
 
 "It's the economically smart thing to do," said Kweilin Ellingrud, the lead author of the report. 
 
 While women constitute about 51% of the U.S. adult population, they make up just 46% of the workforce. 
 
 And they only account for 40% of the country's productivity. 
 
 That's in part because more women work part time than men. But it's also because the productivity measured for GDP excludes the estimated $1.5 trillion in "unpaid care work" such as routine housework and caring for children and elders, which women do twice as much of as men. 
 
 "The more equitably [that] unpaid care work is shared, the more likely it is that women will be able to work in the market economy and have a chance of rising to leading roles in companies," according to the report. 
 
 Related: Yes, men earn more than women. Except in these jobs 
 
 It also notes that the gap between men and women in unpaid work is exacerbated by two things that can be changed: the relative lack of paid parental leave for both genders, especially men; as well as the lack of on-site childcare at work and greater support when it comes to taking care of elderly or disabled family members. 
 
 Every U.S. state has the potential to grow its economy by at least 5% if it can narrow the gender gap over the next decade, the McKinsey report asserts. That means boosting women's participation in the labor force as well as their (paid) work hours. It also means focusing efforts on creating jobs in industries that typically have hired fewer women than men, such as manufacturing and business services. 
 
 McKinsey estimates that 6.4 million jobs will be needed to gin up GDP by an extra $2.1 trillion by 2025. 
 
 Related: Great news for new parents at this company 
 
 Creating those jobs will require an additional investment of at least $475 billion, much of which would probably need to come from the private sector, the report suggests. That money could be invested in everything from infrastructure and innovation to talent development and skills training. 
 
 Businesses, meanwhile, could work to promote greater gender diversity in their recruitment while governments can work on ways to make paid parental leave and better child care real options for men and women. 
 
 In addition, the reports suggests, both corporations and policymakers would need to work collaboratively to boost job creation through job training and ensuring that the United States remains a center for innovation. ||||| The U.S. economy is constantly evolving. So, too, is the U.S. job market. Some occupations that were once high paying and relatively stable are now fading from the economic landscape, while others jobs that are now in high demand practically did not exist 50 years ago. 
 
 Identifying the best and worst jobs for an individual is inherently subjective as people can have a wide range of interests and abilities. However, by accounting for certain objective factors, such as pay and job security, certain jobs stand out as better than others. 
 
 Job database website CareerCast provided 24/7 Wall St. with its 2017 list of the 10 worst and 10 best jobs in the country. 
 
 Click here to see the best jobs in America. 
 
 Click here to see the worst jobs in America. 
 
 According to the report released today, a statistician — a relatively high-paying occupation with rapid employment growth — is the best job in the country. Meanwhile, a newspaper reporter — a relatively low-paying occupation with declining employment — is the worst job in the country. 
 
 Many of the worst jobs in the country are low paying. Of the 10 worst jobs, seven have a lower median income than the $37,040 annual median income for all occupations. Many of the worst jobs are also disappearing. 
 
 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment across all professions is projected to increase by 7% between 2014 and 2024. Of the worst jobs, taxi driver is the only profession with greater than average projected employment growth, while the BLS projects total employment to contract in five. 
 
 Some of the worst jobs are also dangerous. Military service members are expected to work in life-threatening situations; pest control workers often work with poisonous chemicals; and loggers, the third worst job in the country, also have the highest fatality rate of any profession. 
 
 On the other side of the equation, the best jobs tend to be both high paying and in demand. All of them have higher than average projected growth and high median annual income. 
 
 Of the 10 best jobs, four require advanced math skills and three are in medical care. Growth in these areas in the coming years will be driven by industries becoming more computer-based and data-driven, and an aging baby boomer population. 
 
 To determine the best and worst jobs in the country, 24/7 Wall St. analyzed data from CareerCast’s “The Best Jobs of 2017” and “The Worst Jobs of 2017” reports. CareerCast provided the top and bottom 10 jobs, as well as the annual median salary and projected growth outlook from 2014 to 2024 for these professions. CareerCast’s rankings are based on four criteria: environment, income, outlook, and stress. A complete breakdown of CareerCast’s methodology may be found at this link. 
 
 Employment figures for all occupations other than enlisted military personnel came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and are as of May 2016. The total number of enlisted military personnel came from the Defense Manpower Data Center of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and includes Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard and is for February 2017. ||||| WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The pace of hiring in the U.S. tapered off in January, but wages rose sharply and the unemployment rate dipped below 5% for the first time since 2008 in a mixed report that adds little clarity about the health of the economy. 
 
 The U.S. generated 151,000 nonfarm jobs in the first month of 2016, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected hiring to slow to 180,000 after big gains at the end of last year. 
 
 The smaller-than-expected increase could add to growing worries about a weakening U.S. economy and even the possibility of recession. U.S. stocks fell in early Friday trading. 
 
 Read: Recession not happening in the U.S., CEOs signal 
 
 Yet the January jobs report also offered some good news to suggest the labor market remains healthy enough to keep the economy moving. 
 
 The unemployment rate, for example, fell a tick to 4.9% the lowest reading in eight years. 
 
 The U.S. is still creating more than enough jobs to keep up with increases in the size of the labor force. Over the past three months, for example, the economy has gained an average of 231,000 new jobs. That’s well above average. 
 
 In another sign of a robust labor market, the average wage paid to workers jumped 0.5% in January to $25.39 an hour. Wage growth accelerated toward the end of 2015, and it’s climbed 2.5% in the past 12 months, just a hair below the post-recession high set in December. 
 
 Economists predict wages will rise even faster in 2016 as it gets harder for companies to find good help. At the same time, they expect hiring to slow as the pool of available labor shrinks. 
 
 In any case, the latest snapshot of labor-market trends did little to clear up questions about where the economy is going. A raft of reports in early 2016 suggests growth remains sluggish following a slowdown in the fourth quarter. 
 
 “The January employment report is clearly a half glass of water,” said Steve Blitz, chief economist of ITG Investment Research. 
 
 The mixed picture won’t give the Federal Reserve much to chew over, either. Economists predict the central bank will wait until at least early summer before raising interest rates again. 
 
 Inside the report 
 
 The retail industry added the most new jobs in January, taking on 58,000 new employees. Restaurants hired 47,000 workers and health-care companies boosted payrolls by 37,000. 
 
 In a surprise, manufacturers also created the most new jobs in a year, with payrolls rising by 29,000. Makers of food products led the way. Yet the increase in hiring in January is unlikely to be sustained as manufacturers struggle with falling exports in key overseas markets. 
 
 The financial industry beefed up staff by 18,000, continuing a steady trend of hiring after years of little employment growth. 
 
 Yet the ranks of professionals only increased by 9,000, largely because of a big drop in temps. These types of jobs have grown the rapidly during the economic recovery. 
 
 As expected, the transportation sector cut 20,000 jobs, mostly couriers used during the holidays to deliver packages. The energy industry, coping with cheap oil, also eliminated more jobs. 
 
 The pace of job creation at the end of 2015 was little changed after the government incorporated annual revisions in the employment report. 
 
 Some 262,000 new jobs were created in December instead of 292,000. But November’s gain was raised to 280,000 from 252,000. 
 
 More from MarketWatch ||||| A pillow is placed on a couch at Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, California October 4, 2013. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO High salaries and free food aren't enough any more in Silicon Valley, where maturing companies are competing for talent with creative health care and "wellness" programs that use gadgets to promote good behavior. 
 
 Standard benefits at the largest technology companies, including Google Inc and Apple Inc, range from fertility treatments to deluxe on-site medical clinics, to new technology treats like health-tracking bracelets. 
 
 The health largesse separates Silicon Valley’s raging economy from many other sectors in the United States, but tech companies' experiments with perks show signs of spreading, benefits managers say. 
 
 Keeping employees healthy pays off in ways from increased productivity to lower health costs. Cutting obesity decreases risks of diabetes and other costly chronic diseases, for instance. 
 
 Silicon Valley employers see themselves fighting for good engineers. 
 
 "It’s absolutely a key way to recruit talent," said Joe Gracy, global benefits head at Yahoo, which offers the Valley standard slew of fertility and other benefits as well as 16 weeks of paid leave for new mothers and 8 weeks for new fathers. 
 
 Computer science students like James Mishra, who will graduate from the University of Minnesota in 2015, are among the most in demand by tech employers. Mishra will be booted off his parents' insurance at 26, he said, so he considers health benefits to be a "deciding factor." 
 
 Though young entrepreneurs still start businesses in garages, the tech sector's average age is in line with industry as a whole, according to benefits companies. 
 
 John Adams, the thirteenth employee at Twitter, said healthcare had become a prime concern. When he was younger, he looked for jobs that offered stock, the chance of an initial public offering, and a big salary. "That works when you're in your 20s and 30s," he said. "[It] doesn't work as you age." 
 
 Benefits consultant Towers Watson found technology and telecoms firms will pay an average $10,450 per employee in 2014, close to the top of the range, based on a survey of expected expenses. Healthcare and energy both offer slightly more, while wholesale and retail employees will get $8,162. 
 
 Dan Bernstein, a principal at benefits consultant Mercer in San Francisco, describes a "perks arms race" that includes health. "Infertility is huge," he said, adding that Silicon Valley appeared to offer even better benefits that tech overall. 
 
 "Tech companies are an outlier," said Jennifer Benz, chief executive of Benz Consulting, which works on benefits with employers like Salesforce, Intuit Inc and Adobe. "We see a lot of experimenting going on." 
 
 Silicon Valley is spending "big on babies," including premature infants, said Lauren Vela, executive director of the Silicon Valley Employers Forum. 
 
 Some 103 tech firms surveyed by Mercer in 2013 covered health benefits for same-sex partners more frequently than the national average, and were more likely to offer coverage for part-time employees, acupuncture, and health management programs, such as nurse advice lines and behavior modification programs. For a graphic see: link.reuters.com/qus92w 
 
 "Second opinion" services like Grand Rounds Health are also popular. 
 
 Apple said its full health benefits, including fertility treatment up to $15,000, are offered to all Apple employees, up to and including part-time employees at the Apple retail stores. 
 
 Many marquis benefits have spread. Google says it was among the first to first to cover “transitioning and necessary gender reassignment surgical procedures”. Now 17 percent of surveyed high-tech companies now cover gender reassignment surgery, compared with 5 percent among large companies overall, Mercer said. 
 
 WELLNESS 
 
 Silicon Valley firms are enthusiastic creators and investors in tech services and gadgets, as well. 
 
 Tax and accounting software maker Intuit recently signed a deal with MDLive, a startup funded by former Apple chief executive John Sculley, to provide secure video chats with doctors. 
 
 Intuit’s benefits program manager Sarah Lecuna said she receives at least one new pitch from a new “wellness program” every day and is evaluating a concierge medical service and a diabetes management tool, among others. 
 
 Whether wellness programs can cut costs is an open question. 
 
 But about 50 percent of Intuit employees sport a wearable device which tracks their activity, such as the Max, from Virgin Group's Virgin Pulse. Intuit give employees cash for increasing their activity, for instance. 
 
 Last year, shortly after Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer joined Jawbone's board, Yahoo provided free branded Jawbone UP activity trackers for a program called the "100 mile challenge." Apple uses wearables, as well. 
 
 Benefits managers say they only look at data in "aggregate," meaning they won't penalize and do not track individual employees who do not engage in these wellness programs. 
 
 Silicon Valley is not alone in focusing on wellness. The percent of companies offering rewards and penalties for goals like weight loss and cholesterol management is expected to more than double in 2015 to 46 percent, according to Towers Watson. 
 
 The researcher found that tech already is ahead in some measures of health, with low smoking rates. Moreover, only 23 percent of tech workers are obese, significantly lower than every other sector. 
 
 Google, for one, is using low tech to help avoid sweets. Although it offers free food, it doesn't want employees to eat too much dessert or drink too much soda. The low-tech answer? Sweets are put on a shelf that's harder to see. 
 
 (Reporting By Christina Farr, editing by Peter Henderson)
– Those hoping to repair bicycles or fight forest fires will have good luck finding work over the next decade, but home health and personal care aides will fare even better, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' list of America's fastest-growing jobs. The US is expecting 0.7% job growth annually. But thanks to an aging population, the personal care industry is expected to add 754,000 jobs for 37.4% growth by 2026, while the home health industry is expected to add 425,600 new jobs for 46.7% growth. Together, that's more jobs than projected across the eight other fastest-growing fields combined, notes the Washington Post. The problem: They're among the lowest-paying jobs in the country, per 24/7 Wall St. Personal care aides make about $21,900 annually; home health aides pull in $22,600. Some 90% of these positions are held by women, many of whom live in poverty, per the Post. "What they earn makes it hard for them to pay the rent, or get an education to move into better-paying jobs," says a labor economist. She suggests the government should supplement aides' wages, as they can help the health care system save money by keeping people out of nursing homes. Worried about artificial intelligence taking over your job? Here's some good news: In a Deloitte survey of 250 US executives who are early adopters of artificial intelligence, 69% said they expected minimal or no job loss in the next three years, while 29% said they expected job growth, per ZDNet. Forbes spotlights four jobs that might be obsolete in 10 years.