It's Been a Minute You're not broken. The job market is.
8 snips
Jan 26, 2026 
Nitish Pahwa, Slate writer on AI and hiring tech, and Wailin Wong, NPR Indicator co-host and labor analyst, explore why jobseekers feel stuck despite low unemployment. They discuss ghost jobs, AI filters that reduce applicants to keywords, biased black-box algorithms, and how hiring platforms resemble noisy dating apps. Short, sharp takes on tech-driven hiring dynamics.
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Slow, Stuck Job Growth
- Job growth has slowed: hiring remains positive but far from blockbuster, making the market feel stuck for job seekers.
- If you have a job you're likely okay, but looking for work right now often feels frustrating and unrewarding.
Headline Unemployment Masks Gaps
- Aggregate unemployment hides disparities; certain groups face much worse outcomes than headline rates suggest.
- Young workers and Black workers are experiencing higher unemployment and more part-time work for economic reasons.
Worker Power Has Receded
- Worker power has waned since the Great Resignation, shifting leverage back to employers.
- The labor leverage ratio (quits to layoffs) captures this decline in workers' outside options.