Podcast Summary: Marketplace Morning Report

Episode: A tricky time to be a recent college grad
Date: November 26, 2025
Host: David Brancaccio

Episode Overview

This episode highlights the shifting economic and job landscape for recent college graduates, examines concentrated stock market growth driven by a handful of tech companies, reviews a potential US–Taiwan trade deal centered on semiconductors, and takes a close look at what life is like for older Americans living primarily on Social Security.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Advantaged College Grad? That Edge is Shrinking

• [01:02–03:01]

• Main Insight: New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland reveals that the traditional job-search advantage held by recent college graduates over high school grads is diminishing.

• Expert Voices:

  • Baris Kaimak, Cleveland Fed: There’s “still some advantages to being a college graduate, including better pay and job security...” (01:25)
  • Details:
    • In the past, college grads typically found jobs in 2–2.5 months; now it’s about 4.5 months, nearly the same as high school graduates (01:34–01:49).
    • Not just due to the pandemic or AI, but also broad economic shifts and a correction after pandemic-era hiring surges (01:53).
  • David Deming, Harvard: Sometimes “hiring of new college grads is like the first thing to go when a company is having to make tough decisions. They'd rather just not hire this year and do a freeze than lay people off.” (02:07)
  • Ali Bustamante, University of New Orleans: The overflow of college degree holders and fewer openings in traditional sectors (accounting, management, legal, HR) amplify the slowdown (02:17–02:34).
  • Sectors like professional services lost 20,000 jobs just in September (02:34).
  • Many graduates delay joining the workforce, opting for further education—a risky bet given the uncertain job market (02:39–02:53).

  Notable Quote:

  “These days... they're both taking about four and a half months to find that first job.”
  —Marketplace Reporter [01:49]

2. Stock Market Surge—But Only for a Few

• [03:01–04:40]

• Main Insight: The S&P 500 is up 15% in 2025, with the NASDAQ index even higher. However, growth is “concentrated in a tiny subset of tech companies” linked to artificial intelligence.

• Interview with Susan Schmidt, Exchange Capital Resources:

  • The 19% surge is being driven by a handful of stocks—mostly those in AI, like Nvidia (03:24).
  • “That's what's gone up where it's a lot of volatility. What will happen and what can AI deliver to the economy and the workforce has yet to be seen.” (03:24)
  • The narrow market rise—what investors call low "market breadth"—could be a warning sign. The S&P 500’s gains are dominated by just a few booming firms (04:05).

  Notable Quote:

  “Investors do think about that. So we talk about market breadth. You'd like to have positive stock price action across many stocks, not just a few.”
  —Susan Schmidt [04:05]

3. Potential U.S.–Taiwan Semiconductor Trade Deal

• [05:57–06:59]

• Main Insight: The U.S. and Taiwan are reportedly negotiating a trade deal that could increase investment and semiconductor manufacturing and training in the U.S.

  • Taiwan—a major supplier of semiconductors—faces higher import tariffs (20%) imposed by the U.S. since the summer.
  • The deal could benefit TSMC’s new Arizona plant, hampered by delays due to a lack of skilled workers despite $6 billion in government grants.
  • The agreement may require Taiwan to help train American workers.

  Notable Quote:

  “That factory has taken longer than expected to finish, in part due to a lack of skilled workers in the U.S.”
  —Henry Epp [06:59]

4. The Economics of Retirement: Life on Social Security

• [06:59–09:41]

• Main Insight: On Social Security’s 90th anniversary, the show profiles a retiree, Todd Kniebohm, navigating life on a limited income pieced together from Social Security and rental income.

  • Social Security on average replaces 40% of pre-retirement income—most need additional sources.
  • Todd, 67, lives on under $30,000 a year, with about $1,700/month from Social Security making up half his income.
  • His lifestyle is carefully budgeted: “it's not much. There’s no margin for error.” (09:14)
  • He’s cut extras like his XM radio subscription and remains cautious with expenses (09:18-09:23).

  Notable Quotes:

  “Well, it’s half of my income, so it’s very important.”
  —Todd Kniebohm [09:01]

  “Like many retirees who are piecing it together, he’d love to have more breathing room... But for now, he’s getting by.”
  —Chris Farrell [09:29]

5. Upcoming: Climate Crisis and the Future of Food

• [09:46–10:25]

• Preview: Amy Scott introduces the new season of “How We Survive,” focused on how climate change endangers food staples like chocolate, coffee, corn, and wheat, and the scientific race to develop resilient alternatives.

  Notable Quote:

  “Imagine a future where chocolate and coffee are rare and expensive, where cheap nutritional staples like corn and wheat are threatened. Sounds unpleasant, doesn’t it?”
  —Amy Scott [09:46]

Memorable Moments & Quotes With Timestamps

• “The terms of the following bargain are clear right Put in the work for a college degree and it'll be easier to get a job. But new research…says that the recent college grads may be losing some of that Advantage.”
  —David Brancaccio [01:02]

• “There are also way more people with college degrees than there used to be, and some industries that would have given them an advantage aren't hiring like before…”
  —Ali Bustamante [02:17]

• “You start to worry about the other 493 stocks in the S&P 500.”
  —David Brancaccio to Susan Schmidt [04:05]

• “It's not much. There's no margin for error.”
  —Todd Kniebohm [09:14]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:02] The diminishing advantage for recent college grads
• [03:01] Stock market performance and tech company dominance
• [05:57] U.S.–Taiwan semiconductor trade deal news
• [06:59] Social Security and retirement realities
• [09:46] Preview: “How We Survive” and the climate-food challenge

Conclusion

This episode delivers a concise but impactful overview of the shaky ground recent college graduates are navigating, the risks posed by a booming but narrow tech stock surge, the importance of upskilling for the semiconductor industry, and the daily realities of retirees on fixed incomes. It closes by prompting listeners to consider how climate change could drastically alter our most basic foods.