economics correspondent paul solman reports on this rare hiring policy. it's part of his ongoing reporting, "making sense of financial news." >> reporter: since losing her husband 16 years ago, retired waitress rosa finnegan has been coming to work at vita needle in needham, massachusetts. >> i can still walk up the stairs as long as i have a little support. i don't want to fall backrds. >> reporter: no surprise that at 100, rosa is the oldest worker at this needle and tube manufacturer. the next oldest, bill ferson is just 94. >> i'm in! >> so i go home, i said to my wife, "i think i got a part time job." "oh, good," she said, "get you out of my hair." >> reporter: in fact, the average age of the 48 workers at vita needle is 74. >> i was only going to come for five or six months, something like that. i've been here 24 years. i'm never going to quit working. >> reporter: now the data on workers over 55 is that they're unemployed far longer than younger ones. the anecdata: that age discrimination abounds. but age discrimination here means: the older the be

. >> brown: paul solman looks at china's fast growing economy and asks, is it headed for a crash? >> wages are rising for the burgeoning middle class, but for hardscrabble factory workers: mounting protests against unlivable wages and working conditions. >> ifill: and vice president joe biden hangs out with hari sreenivasan on google plus to talk about gun violence. >> make your voices heard. this town listens when people rise up and speak. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> brown: the u.s. military has a new order of the day: working up plans for putting women on the front lines. the process was set in motion today at the pen

. >> brown: paul solman looks at china's fast growing economy and asks, is it headed for a crash? >> wages are rising for the burgeoning middle class, but for hardscrabble factory workers: mounting protests against unlivable wages and working conditions. >> ifill: and vice president joe biden hangs out with hari sreenivasan on google plus to talk about gun violence. >> make your voices heard. this town listens when people rise up and speak. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour."

. >> brown: paul solman looks at china's fast growing economy and asks, is it headed for a crash? >> wages are rising for the burgeoning middle class, but for hardscrabble factory workers: mounting protests against unlivable wages and working conditions. >> ifill: and vice president joe biden hangs out with hari sreenivasan on google plus to talk about gun violence. >> make your voices heard. this town listens when people rise up and speak. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> brown: the u.s. military has a new order of the day: working up plans for putting women on the front lines. the process was set in motion today at the pen

. >> woodruff: paul solman takes us inside a company that turns a profit by employing an unusual workforce. >> a massachusetts manufacturing firm founded in 1932 where the median age is 74 and rosa finnegan over there, is 100.

also online, a very personal story from newshour economics correspondent paul solman, whose email accountthe ordeal on his "making sense" page. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. you'll really want to check out that blog. and that's the newshour for tonight. on tuesday, margaret warner reports from tel aviv on the outcome of israel's elections, plus we look back at the supreme court decision on abortion known m "roe v. wade," 40 yeari' gwlaeren. i'm gwen ifill. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. we'll see you online, and again here tomorrow evening. thank you for joining us. good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> macarthur foundation. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

. >> sreenivasan: economics correspondent paul solman wants to know where you live and where, if anywherehe standard of living higher than right here in the united states? you can respond on our making sense page. that and more is on our website newshour.pbs.org. ray? >> suarez: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm ray suarez. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. we'll see you online. and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks among others. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

also there, you can read larry's commentary and economics correspondent paul solman's counterpoint onthe fiscal cliff deal. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. gwen? >> ifill: and that's the newshour for tonight. on tuesday, we'll look at the explosion of free online college courses. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you online, and again here tomorrow evening. thank you, and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> bnsf railway. >> macarthur foundation. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> this is "bbc world news america." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relati

paul solman answers a viewer's question on "making sense." all that and more is on our ww site, newshour.pbs.org. hari. >> sreenivasan: and that's the newshour for tonight. on monday, the daily download looks at social media in the workplace. i'm hari sreenivasan. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. "washington week" can be seen later this evening on most pbs stations. we'll see you online, and agai here monday evening. have a nice weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the bill andndinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productionshe captioned by media access

. >> sreenivasan: economics correspondent paul solman wants to know where you live and where, if anywhere the standard of living higher th ght here in the united states? you can respond on our making sense page. that and more is on our website newshour.pbs.org. ray? >> suarez: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm ray suarez. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. we'll see you online. and again here tomorrow evening with mark shields and david brooks among others. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

"newshour" economics correspondent paul solman has our look as, yes, part of his ongoing reporting: "making sense of financial news." >> reporter: china: the juggernaut that's driving a world economic recovery? or a classic bubble about to burst, taking us all down with it? the evidence is dramatic, on both sides. on the one hand, breakneck urbanization-- building ten new york sized cities by 2025. on the other hand, ghost towns, empty housing developments. recent headlines report that chinese exports are back on track. but, they also feature corruption, the riches of the politically plugged-in, stunning inequality. yes, wages are rising; a middle class, burgeoning wealth everywhere apparent. but, mounting protests against unlivable wages and working conditions. in our 2005 china on the rise series we documented a shanghai tower taller than the empire state building. but, last year, china's broad group, erected a 30-story energy-efficient hotel in 15 days and now intends to put up j220, a 220-story tower more than half a mile high, ten feet taller than dubai's burj khalifa. while the

paul solman answers a viewer's question on "making sense." all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org. hari. >> sreenivasan: and that's the newshour for tonight. on monday, the daily download looks at social media in the workplace. i'm hari sreenivasan. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. "washington week" can be seen later this evening on most pbs stations. we'll see you online, and again here monday evening. have a nice weekend. thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by me