When will the Fed shift focus to the job market?

Marketplace

News, Business

4.6 • 8.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2026

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Federal Reserve is focused on cooling inflation right now, which has stayed stubbornly above the 2% target. But price stabilization is just one half of the central bank’s dual mandate. In this episode, when will the Fed pivot to buoying the stagnant job market? After that, wholesale vegetables see huge price spikes, the imported seafood industry staggers despite easing tariffs, and your credit history could determine your mortgage rate.

Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.

Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Programming is supported by Stoll Reeves, a leading U.S. corporate litigation law firm providing sophisticated business clients' high-quality legal services with offices in seven states and Washington, D.C.
0:12.6	Stole Reeves is a nationally recognized leader in project finance and natural resources industries.
0:18.9	From deals and disputes to compliance and counseling, clients turn to Stole Reeves for their most complex business challenges.
0:26.0	Learn more at S-T-O-E-L.com.
0:30.6	Do you want to better Internet?
0:32.4	Cox Internet, of 300 megas, has the velocities rapid and confiables that you look.
0:37.4	Perfect to streaming and gaming and to beaming and working from everything to $45 dollars a month when you're including a equipment of Wi-Fi and guarantee of price of two years in your plan. No, you'll be it. Coddy to Cogs Mobile Gigon of pressure, no, including impuces and cargos, velocity of data, mobile, is reduced after 20 gigas a month. This being the oil shock from the war in the Middle East. Fed Chair J. Powell on what we do and don't know about the economy.
1:11.5	From American Public Media, this is Marketplace.
1:19.7	In Denver, I'm Amy Scott in for Kai Rizdal.
1:27.8	It's Wednesday, March 18th.
1:30.1	Good to have you with us.
1:31.7	Today, the Fed surprised no one by keeping its benchmark interest rate steady at a target range of three and a half to three and three quarters percent.
1:42.0	Also, no surprise, the shadow cast over the proceedings by the U.S.
1:46.5	Israeli war in the Middle East. In his second to last scheduled press conference as Fed chair,
1:52.9	Jerome Powell said economic growth is strong, unemployment is still low, inflation is still higher
1:59.8	than the Fed would like, as one-time hits from tariffs
2:02.8	continue to work their way through the economy. And he said it's too soon to know how the recent
2:08.1	spike in oil prices will play out and whether the Fed will need to respond.
2:12.7	And if you look at total inflation, sorry, total core inflation, it's about 3%. And some big chunk of that
2:19.6	between a half and three quarters is actually tariff. So we're looking for progress on that.
2:24.2	The question of whether we look through the energy inflation doesn't really arise until we have
2:30.1	kind of checked that box. The Fed has two primary goals, stable prices and maximum employment.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

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.