Planet Money SUMMER SCHOOL 5: Car Parts, Celery & The Labor Market
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Aug 11, 2022 
Julia Pollack, Chief Economist at ZipRecruiter, and Cardiff Garcia, a labor market reporter, dive into the intricate relationship between jobs and the economy. They discuss the dilemma of automation in factories and the uncertainty faced by workers. In agriculture, rising wages aren't drawing in workers, highlighting a disconnect in the labor market. The episode explores how changing job dynamics affect both skilled and unskilled labor, and the innovative strategies some businesses are employing to adapt to these challenges.
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Ralph's Expertise
- Ralph Young, a highly skilled worker at the same plant, specializes in CNC programming and machine repair.
- His expertise makes him valuable and gives him bargaining power.
Maddie's Job
- Maddie Parlier, a single mom, works at an auto parts plant pushing buttons.
- Her job is easy to learn and thus easily replaceable by automation.
Skill-Biased Technological Change
- Technology often replaces low-skill jobs while creating high-skill ones, leading to structural unemployment.
- This "skill-biased" change requires workers to adapt and acquire new skills to stay competitive.