What’s Actually Happening in the U.S. Jobs Market?

WSJ Your Money Briefing

The Wall Street Journal

Business News, News

4.1 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2026

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, we feature an episode of What’s News Sunday exploring the deepening contradictions in the U.S. labor market. While corporate downsizing and AI integration drove January layoffs to their highest levels since 2009, official reports still show job gains. Host Luke Vargas examines why recent data revisions are leading workers and employers alike to question the reliability of hiring figures. Plus, WSJ reporters Justin Lahart and Lindsay Ellis break down listener questions on the reality of the current hiring climate. 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

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0:28.3	among real estate professionals. Hey YMB listeners this is anth Anthony Bansy for The Wall Street Journal.
0:40.5	Yes, yes, we're still in a break, and we are still cooking up a personal finance podcast just for you.
0:47.2	But until then, we are sharing a special episode of What's New Sunday.
0:51.6	It's our weekly show where we tackle the big questions behind the headlines.
0:55.8	And this week, the show tackled a topic that hits close to home for all of us, the job market.
1:01.3	They answered listeners' biggest questions about layoffs, AI, and the future of work. And if you like it, check out What's News, wherever you're listening to us.
1:13.1	$130,000. That's the number of jobs the U.S. added in January, more than doubling analyst
1:18.9	expectations, with gains in health care and social assistance roles helping to outnumber
1:24.0	declines in government, warehousing, information, and financial services.
1:29.2	But if that data point still leaves a lot unsaid about the complex state of the jobs market,
1:34.4	especially with new revisions to the data showing that fewer jobs were created over the last two years than previously thought,
1:41.2	well, worry not because we've been tracking down answers to your questions
1:44.7	about the job market from a pair of excellent reporters. Justin Layhart covers economics for us
1:50.0	out of New York. And from Washington, D.C., we're joined by Workplace and Careers Reporter Lindsay
1:55.2	Ellis. Justin, one thing I keep seeing readers asking about in the comments of our jobs report stories is can we even trust the numbers, implying there may be some real jobs numbers out there we're not seeing.
	...

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