Marketplace All-in-One - Unemployment hits four-year high
The U.S. unemployment rate climbed to 4.6% in November, according to the latest BLS jobs report. There’s also data showing more Americans are reentering the workforce and more part-time workers are looking for full-time roles. In this episode, we explain what it all means for the broader economy. Plus: Advertising revenue is projected to top $1 trillion in 2025, hiring in the once-strong health care sector may slow soon, and artificial intelligence drives some young people into trade school.
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Marketplace All-in-One - The “invisible workforce” of family caregivers
Roughly 1 in 4 Americans now identifies as a family caregiver. That share has risen dramatically over the past decade. With more people needing care and limited options for affordable long-term care services in the United States, caregivers are strained—often mentally and financially. On today’s show, Debra Whitman, chief public policy officer of AARP, joins Kimberly to unpack how this “invisible workforce” fits into the broader economy and how we can make caregiving more sustainable for families.
Here’s everything we talked about today:
- "Caregiving in the US 2025" from AARP
- "The number of “sandwich generation” caregivers is growing" from Marketplace
- "If Americans Were Paid For Their Caregiving, They Would Make More Than $1.1 Trillion" from the National Partnership for Women and Families
- "Returning to the Workforce After Being a Caregiver" from Harvard Business Review
- "Invisible crisis: America’s caregivers and the $600 billion unpaid cost of their labor" from ABC News
- "Caregiving in the US 2025: Caring Across States" from AARP
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Marketplace All-in-One - The rise of cash-only care
The cost of health insurance is becoming increasingly unaffordable. With many Affordable Care Act marketplace subsidies set to expire, coverage is about to get even more pricier for more than 20 million people next year. These growing costs are fueling interest in a market for cash-only doctors. Today, we'll hear more. But first, all of those government layoffs and employee buyouts have hit the labor market. We’ll discuss.
Marketplace All-in-One - The November jobs report, finally
How many jobs did the U.S. economy gain or lose last month? We'll find out later this morning. The numbers are about a week late, as the folks at the Bureau of Labor Statistics needed a minute to catch up after the government shutdown. Economists' expectations are low. Then, an investigation in New York looks into allegations of systemic fraud big banks are facing over foreclosure auctions. We'll help you understand the story.
Marketplace All-in-One - Volkswagen closes a plant in Germany for the first time
From the BBC World Service: Volkswagen has been making cars in Germany for 88 years. In all that time, it's never closed a manufacturing plant in its home country until now. On Tuesday, the last vehicle will roll off the assembly line at the VW plant in Dresden. It comes as the company struggles with the transition to EVs. Plus, the head of Ukraine's largest energy provider says his company is living in permanent crisis mode as Russia steps up attacks on the country's energy grid.
Marketplace All-in-One - How states are competing in the data center gold rush
Tech giants are estimated to have spent almost $400 billion in capital expenditures this year, mostly to build data centers for artificial intelligence. A single massive facility can have a price tag in the billions of dollars.
And many states want in on that spending spree. Thirty-seven states have some sort of incentive program to attract data centers with the hope of bringing a boost to their local economies. They're giving away hundreds of millions in tax exemptions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Nicholas Miller, policy associate at NCSL, to learn more.
