Skilled labor scarcity
Marketplace
Marketplace
4.6 • 8.5K Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
An AI-driven construction boom is coming, some hope. But to build all that infrastructure, the U.S. is going to need a lot more construction workers, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and other skilled workers. And President Trump’s immigration policies actively work against that goal. Also in this episode: Trump withdraws the U.S. from a key global climate change agreement, Americans shell out for at-home coffee setups, and Kai discusses the week’s economic headlines with Greg Ip at the Wall Street Journal and Amara Omeokwe at Bloomberg.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | At Pluralsight, we don't just teach skills. |
| 0:02.8 | We are building the tech workforce who deliver results fast, accelerated by top-tier content. |
| 0:08.6 | Lead with confidence, lead with expertise. |
| 0:11.1 | Visit us at plural site.com to tap in and learn more. |
| 0:16.6 | What do you think? |
| 0:18.0 | Can we sort through what happened in this economy in six, maybe six and a half minutes? |
| 0:23.6 | We're going to try from American public media. This is Marketplace. |
| 0:39.8 | In Los Angeles, I'm Kyle Rizzdahl. |
| 0:40.5 | It is Friday. |
| 0:43.0 | Today, this one is the 16th of January. |
| 0:45.1 | Good as always to have you along, everybody. |
| 0:47.2 | Well, here we are. |
| 0:49.5 | Another Friday in the American economy. |
| 0:52.6 | Tell you what, though, it has been an interesting week. |
| 0:53.6 | Lots to talk about it. |
| 0:54.8 | Not a whole lot of time. |
| 0:58.7 | Amera Mokwe is at Bloomberg. Greg Ipp is at the Wall Street Journal. Hey, you too. |
| 1:00.2 | Hey, Kai. |
| 1:00.7 | Hello, Kai. |
| 1:07.5 | Amara, you get to start. You've had going on a week to think about it, as we all have. |
| 1:12.6 | Where are you? What do you make of Chair Powell's video from last Sunday, |
| 1:19.6 | the Justice Department going after the chair, all of that good stuff? Yeah, I mean, this was really a remarkable week for Fed coverage. It started with that extraordinary video and |
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