logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
19m 8s

Immigration and unemployment

Financial Times & Pushkin Industries
About this episode

When discussing the economy after the interest rate cuts last week, chair of the US Federal Reserve Jay Powell made an interesting comment about jobs numbers and immigration. “If you are having millions of people come into the labour force, and you are creating 100,000 jobs, you’re going to see unemployment go up,” he said. Well, mostly. Today on the show, the entire staff of the Unhedged newsletter – Rob Armstrong and Aiden Reiter – get together to discuss how immigration might be affecting unemployment. Also, they go long and short China’s new stimulus programmes. 


For a free 30-day trial to the Unhedged newsletter go to: https://www.ft.com/unhedgedoffer


You can email Robert Armstrong at robert.armstrong@ft.com and Katie Martin at katie.martin@ft.com


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Apr 28
Gloom and boom
The news is bad, but stocks seem happy. Today on the show, Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong unpack the market’s rally and look forward to Fed chair Jay Powell’s final comments. Also, they go short health monitors and long snooker in Iran.For a free 30-day trial to the Unhedged news ... Show More
23m 1s
Apr 23
China Shock 2.0
In the past decade China has transformed itself into a high-value producer of sophisticated goods, threatening jobs in Europe and the rest of Asia. Today on the show, the FT’s Beijing bureau chief Joe Leahy joins Katie Martin and Rob Armstrong to discuss his three-part series on ... Show More
23m 38s
Apr 21
Trading disruption
Today on the show, Rob Armstrong reports from the FT Commodities Global Summit 2026, where hundreds of traders gathered to share war stories about one of the wildest markets in decades. Also, they go long volatility and long honesty about plans to control the world. For a free 30 ... Show More
23m 51s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2022
The Economy: 7. Jobs and Unemployment
What happens when lots of people lose their jobs? Why might wages be low even though everyone who wants a job, has one? What do we mean by employment and unemployment and what does 'economic inactivity' mean? What is productivity and how does it relate to you and your job? Tim Ha ... Show More
14 m
Jun 2024
Do immigrants really take jobs and lower wages?
We wade into the heated debate over immigrants' impact on the labor market. When the number of workers in a city increases, does that take away jobs from the people who already live and work there? Does a surge of immigration hurt their wages? The debate within the field of econo ... Show More
25m 43s
Sep 2025
Jobs report warning signs
Paltry job creation was the headline item in the latest jobs report. But dig a little deeper, and warning signs show up all over: long-term unemployment, Black unemployment and Hispanic unemployment all rose in August. In this episode, why those stats could be proverbial canaries ... Show More
26m 11s
Oct 2025
What’s up with the US economy? With Austan Goolsbee
Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a voter on the Fed’s interest rate-setting committee, speaks to the FT’s economics commentator Chris Giles about the outlook for the US economy amid a boom in AI investment, sluggish hiring, President Donald Tr ... Show More
24m 57s
Dec 2023
Arm CEO's Immigration Call & Billionaires Shift To Abu Dhabi
Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes. On today's podcast: (1) Arm's CEO Rene Haas told Bloomberg that whoever wins the next election, further restrictions on skilled migration will hurt growth. (2) The Prime Minister is due to answer questions at t ... Show More
21m 6s
Nov 2024
The long view of economics and immigration (Two Indicators)
Mass deportations. What would actually happen—economically—if the President-elect follows through on promises to deport millions of people from America.We don't have to guess.Today we have two stories from Planet Money's daily podcast, The Indicator. First, the story from another ... Show More
15m 58s