As the labor market cools, job scams heat up
Marketplace All-in-One
Marketplace
4.5 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 2 October 2025
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Unemployment remains relatively low, but the labor market is slowing down. Private payroll company ADP estimates the private sector lost 32,000 jobs last month. Hiring has slowed, and it's taking longer for jobseekers to find work. And where there are people with anxiety and fear, there are scammers to prey on them. The Federal Trade Commission says reports of job scams tripled over the past four years. But first, why the Trump administration is sending memos to universities and what Democrats are demanding to reopen the government.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello, listeners. Marketplace's Webby-winning Kids podcast, Million Bazillion, is back for an all-new season. |
| 0:07.2 | Hosts Bridget and Ryan are answering a whole new set of kid questions about everything from royalties and franchises to why the heck we have a $2 bill. |
| 0:17.0 | Even grownups might learn a thing or two. |
| 0:19.6 | Million Bazillion is presented in partnership with Greenlight, the debit card and money app for kids and teens. |
| 0:25.7 | Give your family the tools to manage money wisely with Greenlight. Learn more at greenlight.com |
| 0:31.5 | slash million. And tune in to Million Bazillion wherever you find your favorite podcasts. |
| 0:38.7 | What do you get when you mix a slowdown in hiring with a little job market desperation |
| 0:44.2 | and a dash of AI? You get job scams. From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Beneshore, in for David |
| 0:50.8 | Brancaccio. Scams in a minute. First, there are reports this morning that the Trump administration is sending out a memo to elite universities and pressuring them to sign it in order for them to receive preferential treatment and funding. |
| 1:04.5 | The agreement would affect things like admissions policies as marketplaces Nancy Marshall-Genzor reports. |
| 1:10.1 | The White House calls the memo a compact for academic excellence in higher education. |
| 1:15.6 | This was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. |
| 1:18.3 | The journal says the compact outlines a series of demands, like a 15% cap on international |
| 1:24.1 | undergraduate student enrollment, a five-year tuition freeze, requiring applicants |
| 1:29.0 | to take the SAT or another test. Schools signing the agreement would also have to commit to |
| 1:34.1 | banning consideration of race or gender in admissions or hiring. The journal says nine schools |
| 1:40.0 | receive the memo, including Vanderbilt, MIT, and Dartmouth College. I'm Nancy Marshall |
| 1:45.6 | Genser for Marketplace. At the center of the shutdown fight, political maneuvering aside, is |
| 1:52.0 | ostensibly health care. There have been a bunch of changes to health care policy under this |
| 1:56.9 | administration. Even more changes are coming down the pipeline. But Democrats are arguing this |
| 2:01.5 | moment in particular is key. Marketplace's senior Washington correspondent, Kimberly Adams, has more. |
| 2:06.4 | Tens of millions of Americans buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchanges, and they are one |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Marketplace, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Marketplace and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.