The U.S. job market is a study in contradictions. While a new report shows January saw the highest level of layoffs since 2009—driven by corporate downsizing and AI integration—the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a surprising gain of 130,000 jobs. Meanwhile, recent data revisions suggest that hiring over the past two years was significantly weaker than previously thought, with workers and employers starting to question the reliability of official figures. WSJ reporters Justin Lahart and Lindsay Ellis discuss listener questions on the state of hiring, and whether the labor market is better or worse than the official data suggests. Further Reading: What Sweeping Revisions and a Blowout Month Tell Us About the U.S. Job Market Job Growth Last Year Was Far Worse Than We Thought. Here’s Why. This Is Why It’s So Hard to Find a Job Right Now America’s Job Market Has Entered the Slow Lane Job Hunters Are So Desperate That They’re Paying to Get Recruited CEOs Say AI Is Making Work More Efficient. Employees Tell a Different Story. Five Older Job Seekers Tell Us How They Broke Through a Bruising Job Market Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ask this episode

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