Union-negotiated pay settlements are falling even further, to an average of around 2%, according to Alastair Hatchett of Income Data Services.

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But it is also a way for Orange to make data services affordable to customers with low disposable income.

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Known as the Federal Data Services Hub, the project is taking the IRS's own records (for income and employment status) and centralizing them with information from Social Security (identity), Homeland Security (citizenship), Justice (criminal history), HHS (enrollment in entitlement programs and certain medical claims data) and state governments (residency).

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