On today’s episode, we make you smarter by answering your pressing questions about this economy: Will cuts to the federal workforce make any difference to the unemployment rate? Also, have we all been totally oblivious to a private sector recession? (Spoiler: No!) We’ll explain. Plus, listeners sound off on smile-worthy moments from their week!Here’s everything we talked about today:“How Will Shrinking the Federal Workforce Impact the Labor Market?” from Wells Fargo “How DOGE cuts might show up in the data” by Axios “Unemployment is still low, but are private sector layoffs accelerating?” from Marketplace “Many laid-off government workers aren’t eligible for unemployment” from Marketplace “US Treasury’s Bessent vows to re-privatize an economy that is ‘brittle underneath’” by Reuters “ADP® National Employment Report” from ADP Research “Employment by industry, monthly changes” from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics “Governments at all levels are hiring, and that’s boosting the job market” by Marketplace “The Federal Reserve’s favorite recession indicator is flashing a danger sign again” from CNBCJoin us tomorrow for “Economics on Tap.” The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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