Navigating long-term unemployment
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What does the latest inflation data reveal about the economy?
Inflation is going up. And our mood? Well, you could say that's going down. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace.
From Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland, I'm Rima Grace in for Kai Risdahl. It is Friday, April 10th. Good to have you with us. You've probably seen or heard the headline by now. Inflation is at its highest level in nearly two years. According to the Labor Department, consumer prices in March were up 3.3 percent from a year ago.
How has long-term unemployment changed in recent years?
To help make sense of these numbers and a lot more, let's jump into our Friday wrap. I'm joined by Sudeep Reddy from MSNOW and Rachel Siegel with The Washington Post. Hey, you two.
Hi, Rima.
Hey, Rima. All right, let's talk inflation. Y'all read the inflation report this morning. In one sentence or maybe just in a few words, tell us, what were the vibes? Sadiq, you go first.
This was not pretty.
What challenges do long-term unemployed individuals face?
Obviously, inflation going up this high, highest.
I think we lost you there. How about you, Rachel? Why don't you go? Yeah, I have a feeling that Sadiq was... Just about to get into this, but I think some of the adjectives that came up might help us, you know, get a sense of how the inflation report came across. There were a lot of words like worst and biggest and largest monthly gain tossed around. And those are often not the kinds of words you want to see pop up when you're talking about the prices that people are feeling day in and day out. It wasn't a huge surprise that a lot of that was driven by energy costs, which is something that people are especially feeling in their pocketbooks. But
Why is long-term unemployment on the rise?
I think that was a quick sense of the mood that the report delivered today. That sounds about right. Sadiq, are you back on the line?
I am, yes.
Oh, great. I think we lost you there. What were your first reactions? What are the vibes of this report?
Yeah, it's obviously concerning to see inflation shoot up less, but we've been expecting this for a while. The last few weeks have been pretty ugly for what people have been seeing at the pump.
What strategies can job seekers use to stay motivated?
But everything obviously depends on how long the war lasts and whether we see a correction in oil prices and gasoline prices. And if that happens, then this could just be a blip.
Yeah. Rachel, there was this moment, you know, a year or so ago where it felt like the Fed was close to achieving that soft landing. But now I don't know. Look, things are looking pretty rough. Do we think that 2 percent target is just a far off dream at this point? Yeah, I mean, we're now coming on, what, five years of inflation being above the Fed's target. And it's not for lack of trying to get there by any means. But it is hard to envision a world where the Fed is able to keep cutting if inflation is, you know, A, moving in the wrong direction and B, just not making the kind of progress that they want to be seeing.
How are consumer sentiments affecting the economy?
And so... It doesn't mean that that kind of soft landing is impossible to achieve. But here we are again talking about whether this kind of increase is a blip if it's going to start to seep through broader inflation as opposed to just staying more confined to oil markets. And that basically leaves them in the same kind of conundrum that they've had for a long time about balancing the risks that can pile up in the labor market side and can pile up on the inflation side quite quickly. Right. Well, Sudeep, I mean, is there anything the Fed can do while they're looking at these numbers? Like how much control do we think the Fed really has these days?
The Fed has very little control, obviously, over the issue of global oil markets, and they certainly have no control over a war. They do have the ability to look through this. The Fed chair, Jay Powell, has been clear that a single surge in gasoline prices, that's a one-time increase.
What role does shelter inflation play in the CPI?
That's not persistent inflation. And they are... so far treating it that way. What we don't know, of course, is how long this is going to last. We've had some White House officials today out there expressing some doubt about whether the Strait of Hormuz is going to open up all that quickly, maybe a couple of months.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What does the latest inflation data reveal about the economy?
0:02–0:41
2
How has long-term unemployment changed in recent years?
0:41–1:04
3
What challenges do long-term unemployed individuals face?
1:04–1:46
4
Why is long-term unemployment on the rise?
1:46–2:17
5
What strategies can job seekers use to stay motivated?
2:17–3:06
6
How are consumer sentiments affecting the economy?
3:06–3:59
7
What role does shelter inflation play in the CPI?
3:59–4:38
8
How is composting being approached in states with waste management issues?
4:38–25:39
Speakers
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