Marketplace
Marketplace

There are more unemployed people than job openings right now

February 5, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

  • The Format: Fast-paced daily financial news radio/podcast with host narration, reporter segments, data breakdowns, and one in-depth interview.
  • The Key Players:
    • Host: Kai Risdall, witty Marketplace anchor delivering economic updates with casual banter.
    • Guest: Eric Kunzman, photography professor leading the Good Phone Project—intriguing pivot from art to social good.
    • Reporters: Daniel Ackerman (labor), Justin Ho (lending/AI), Mitchell Hartman (unemployment), Sabri Beneshwar (energy race)—sharp, fact-driven voices.
  • The Vibe: Educational and analytical, laced with dry humor; mixes market anxiety with uplifting human stories.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:00) **🎙️ Introduction: Eric Kunzman**
  • 2 (01:43) **Labor Market Update**
  • 3 (05:08) **Senior Loan Officer Survey (SLOOS) on AI**
  • 4 (08:25) **Good Phone Project Interview**
  • 5 (13:40) **Market Close**
  • 6 (16:30) **Black Unemployment Trends**
  • 7 (22:12) **US-China Energy Race**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

The latest JOLTS report is bleaker than expected. There were 6.5 million job openings across the U.S. economy in December, down nearly 400,000 from the previous month. This misaligned labor market is especially prominent in the services sector. In this episode, what's next for employment and which groups in particular are struggling to find work. Plus: The U.S. lags behind China in electrical capacity expansion, bankers show reluctance to lend to AI-impacted industries, and a photographer installs free-to-use phones across his city.


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