8 OCT 2026 · First-time unemployment claims (layoffs, basically) have come in below 200,000 for four weeks running — the longest stretch since 1969. At the same time, the economy only barely added jobs in September. Few layoffs, barely any new jobs, and it makes ya start to wonder, just how petrified can this labor market get? Also in this episode: AI doomers touch grass at a monthly Bay Area picnic, the personal savings rate ebbs to a 4-year low, and Kai explains central bankers’ balance sheet agita.
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Read the stories in today’s episode:
- https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/10/08/a-frozen-job-market-means-no-layoffs-and-no-new-hires
- https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/10/08/at-this-san-francisco-picnic-people-share-their-ai-anxieties
- https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/10/08/how-to-get-the-federal-reserve-balance-sheet-just-right
- https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/10/08/will-home-heating-costs-go-up-this-winter
- https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/10/08/the-two-reasons-americans-are-saving-less
- https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/10/08/preserving-family-history-during-retirement