Jobs, of course, wages also, of course, both critical to the health of this economy.

Also though, stuff, just stuff, on shelves.

From American public media, this is Marketplace.

In Los Angeles, I'm Kai, Rizadal.

Monday, 19 December is the day and date.

Good as always to have you along.

Everybody, we begin today with the aforementioned stuff on shelves.

Technically, all that stuff is called retail inventories.

What companies big and small keep in stock to sell to us.

And managing that stuff has been the bane of many business, also big and small over the past couple of years.

As we have reported, I believe, with some regularity on this program.

It's a great expense to all that stuff, buying it and storing it.

So the more efficiently companies can do it, and the more astute they can be in knowing what we want to buy, the better.

And now finally, a lot of retailers have managed to start selling off their extra stuff,

and getting their hands on goods that they have been unable to get previously, as they try to strike a normal pre-pandemic inventory balance.

But overall, inventory levels are still pretty high.

17% higher than October than a year ago, so it says the Commerce Department.

So Marketplaces, Sabrina and I sure took a look at how businesses are trying to wrestle with the long arms of the pandemic economy.

There is this plant, you may have seen on TikTok or Instagram, it's called Monstera Albo,

Big Green and White Leaves with slits in them.

Anyway, it was all the rage for a while, sometimes selling for hundreds of dollars.

I've been really popular for the last three years, and we sold out every month.

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