Wages Vs Inflation, Tennessee Failed Execution, Cornell Rape Case Special Prosecutor

Up First from NPR

This episode examines three pressing national developments: a cooling U.S. labor market where wage growth lags behind persistent inflation,

Key takeaways

• U.S. employers added only 29,000 jobs last month, with July revised to show a net loss of 30,000 jobs after August revisions.
• Average wages rose just 3% year-over-year in September, failing to outpace the Commerce Department's reported 3.4% inflation rate for August.

Main topics

• U.S. labor market and wage stagnation
• Inflation and Federal Reserve interest rate policy

Notable quotes

"The U.S. employers added just 29,000 jobs last month."

Conclusion

Listeners gain a clear picture of how macroeconomic pressures, legal s

Transcript preview

Speaker 5 (0:00) Okay, Michelle, you know this. I do. But we should remind other people that everything we do here at Up First and NPR is thanks to people who listen. Thanks to you. And yesterday marked one year without federal funding for public media. Speaker 1 (0:14) You know, but we're still able to do this work, though, Steve, because people, like the people listening to us now, continue to step up to support it. Up First doesn't happen without you. Speaker 5 (0:23) That's absolutely true. I'm remembering hosting this program with you one year ago. And we're still here. You can join the community that makes this work possible and donate at NPR.org. Thanks. Speaker 1 (0:36) Americans' wages are going up. Prices are also rising more quickly than people's pay. Some people Speaker 5 (0:42) borrow to fill the gap, and interest rates are rising too. How long can consumers keep Speaker 1 (0:47) the economy going? I'm Michelle Martin, that's Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. Speaker 1 (0:55) Tennessee is trying to save the woman it tried to kill. Krista Pike was on death row for a murder she committed as a teenager. She survived two lethal injections and is now in critical condition. What happens now? Also, New Speaker 5 (1:06) York's governor has signed a special prosecutor in the alleged rape case at Cornell University. Authorities in 2024 saw no evidence of a crime they could prosecute. But how did they not know about the woman's statement that she was raped? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. Speaker 8 (1:29) A free press is a critical protection for we the people. The NPR network proudly upholds your First Amendment rights with independent journalism that answers only to you. Your support keeps our reporters on the ground holding power to account and the power to decide what's next for public media is yours. Give at donate.npr.org. Speaker 6 (1:53) This week on the NPR Politics Podcast, a vibe check on election security. With barely a month left until the midterms, we're talking about vote by mail, the possibility of ICE at polling stations, and what the Trump administration is doing in the name of preventing fraud, which we know is not a widespread problem. Plus, the latest on how voters are feeling about all of that. Listen now on the NPR Politics Podcast. Speaker 7 (2:17) This is Tanya Mosley, co-host of Fresh Air. I spoke with Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil about the Columbia protests and his 2025 arrest. While in ICE detention, he missed the birth of his son and had to listen to his wife give birth over the phone. Speaker 1 (2:32) I can never forgive those who stripped that moment from me. Speaker 7 (2:38) Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get Fresh Air. Speaker 5 (2:41) American consumers are heading toward the holiday season with their budgets Speaker 1 (2:44) not quite adding up. Inflation is up, meaning people have to pay more for things they need or want to buy. But wages have grown less than inflation, meaning that many people who pay more also have to borrow more. And interest rates are up, meaning the borrowing costs more. Those are the trends as we receive Speaker 5 (3:02) the government's latest update on the job market, which was not very impressive. NPR's Scott Horsley. brings it all together for us. Scott, good morning. Welcome back. Speaker 2 (3:11) Good morning, Steve. Speaker 5 (3:12) Okay. The job market didn't look so great. Hiring slowed. What are the numbers? Speaker 2 (3:17) Yeah. The U.S. employers added just 29,000 jobs last month. That's weaker than forecasters were expecting. And job gains for both July and August were revised down by a total of 60,000. The updated figures now show a net loss of jobs during the month of July. We're still not seeing a massive number of layoffs across the economy. But most industries just aren't doing a lot of hiring either. Sarah House, who's a senior economist at Wells Fargo, says the job market's kind of inching along in low gear. Speaker 7 (3:46) You're seeing some modest hiring. The good news is you're not seeing a lot of layoffs. But it's really hard if you are one of those workers who loses their job or you're new to the labor force or maybe coming back. There's just