The context behind 115,000 new jobs

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report: "The context behind 115,000 new jobs"

Date: May 8, 2026
Host: Sabri Benashore
Key Guests: Julia Coronado (Macro Policy Perspectives, UT Austin), Rachel Rosner (Eldon Street Tea Shop)

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Episode Overview

This concise episode unpacks the surprisingly strong April jobs report, explores what the figures actually mean in today's economic context, and gives voice to a small business owner grappling with tariffs and supply chain costs. The host, Sabri Benashore, is joined by economist Julia Coronado to dig beneath the headline numbers. Later, Rachel Rosner, a small business owner, discusses the challenges facing importers, particularly tea sellers, as they navigate tariffs and volatile shipping costs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Breaking Down the April Jobs Report

• Headline Numbers:

  • Economy added 115,000 jobs in April 2026 (01:01).
  • This exceeded economists' expectations of 55,000 new jobs.
  • Unemployment rate steady at 4.3%.

• What’s Driving the Numbers:

  • The strong headline number is attributed to a "record warm April" which bolstered hiring in seasonal sectors:
    • Retail
    • Construction
    • Leisure and hospitality (02:09)
  • "Too early" to see negative impacts from the war with Iran or higher gas prices.

• Examining Unemployment and Participation:

  • While job creation appears robust, an increase—358,000—in people newly unemployed (less than five weeks unemployed) was noted (02:31).
  • Labor force participation rate fell:
    • "We're seeing really the impact of an aging workforce and older workers leaving in pretty significant numbers now." — Julia Coronado (02:44)
  • Suggests a labor market that is "stable, but the jobs number probably overstates the strength."

• Wage Growth:

  • Wage growth described as "a little on the soft side" (02:44).
  • Indicates that while jobs are being added, upward pressure on wages is less pronounced.

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2. Notable Economic News Briefs

• Meta (Instagram) Changes

  • Instagram will stop encrypting private messages, allowing Meta to access DMs (03:28).
  • Stems from criticism by child safety groups and law enforcement.

• FIFA Ticket Prices

  • FIFA is tripling the price for the best World Cup tickets to $32,970.
  • "If they sold them for too cheap quote, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price. So I guess if you can't beat the scalpers, join them." — Sabri Benishore (03:28)

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3. Tariff Rulings and Real-World Impact on Businesses

Background:

• US Court of International Trade ruled President Trump’s latest 10% tariffs illegal, though ruling is narrow and applies only to specific Washington companies.
• These tariffs are set to expire in July, with new long-term import taxes on the horizon (05:25).

Business Perspective: Interview with Rachel Rosner

• Tariff Impact:

  • "This is the first time ever that a full tariff on tea had ever been in existence... we get 100% of our tea from overseas." — Rachel Rosner (07:03)
  • Global tariffs have "very impactful" consequences, especially for specialty teas only available abroad.

• Refund Process:

  • Businesses are unsure about the refund process:
    • "It is a lot of headache and it is a lot of uncertainty."
    • Even after filing, “they just kind of feel like it was for nothing at this point.” — Rachel Rosner (07:43)

• Unrecoverable Costs:

  • Many businesses took out loans or incurred extra costs to navigate tariffs — costs which are not covered by any refunds (08:21).
  • Layered pressures from shipping expenses due to high gas prices:
    • "The shipping situation with the gas prices has not lowered our costs either... we did have to take out a loan, a small loan to cover some of the tariff costs. And yeah, that is not covered through the refund process and we still have to pay that back." — Rachel Rosner (08:42)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Julia Coronado (Macro Policy Perspectives):

  • "It’s a little bit of a softer story on the household sector side."
  • "The labor market is stable, but the jobs number probably overstates the strength." (02:44)

• Rachel Rosner (Eldon Street Tea Shop):

  • "It was very impactful because we get 100% of our tea from overseas... with the global tariffs, it was very impactful for our business." (07:03)
  • On the refund process: "It is a lot of headache and it is a lot of uncertainty." (07:43)
  • "We did have to take out a loan... to cover some of the tariff costs. And yeah, that is not covered through the refund process and we still have to pay that back." (08:42)

• Sabri Benishore (on FIFA):

  • "If they sold them for too cheap quote, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price. So I guess if you can't beat the scalpers, join them." (03:28)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• April Jobs Report and Analysis: 01:01 – 03:27
• Other Economic Updates (Meta, FIFA): 03:28 – 04:31
• Tariffs and Small Business Interview: 05:25 – 09:17

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Tone & Style

The episode maintains Marketplace's hallmark tone: clear, accessible analysis with an empathetic nod to both economic data and personal impact. The host injects occasional wry humor (notably in the FIFA segment), while guests provide straightforward, real-world insights.

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Takeaways

• The headline strength in April's jobs data may be overstated due to seasonal and demographic factors.
• Real-world challenges continue for small businesses navigating tariffs, refunds, and shipping costs—many burdens remain even when tariffs are lifted.
• Broader economic news, including changes to privacy on Instagram and steep ticket price hikes at FIFA, reflect a shifting business landscape with direct impacts on consumers.

This episode offers valuable context behind headline economic figures and captures the human side of policy and market shifts.

Transcript

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[Sabri Benishore]

Right now, you can help unlock $25,000 from the Marketplace Investors Challenge Fund. That means your support for the Marketplace Morning Report can go even further, helping keep trusted economic reporting free for everyone. You can answer the call of the Marketplace investors who gave extra to the challenge fund. Contribute one of the 500 gifts that's needed by Friday to unlock that $25,000 in extra funding. You can donate now at marketplace.org or. Or click the link in the show notes 115,000 new jobs from Marketplace. I'm Sabri Ben. Ashore in New York. The economy added 115,000 jobs in April. Economists were expecting just 55,000. The unemployment rate stayed the same at 4.3%. So what does it all mean? Julia Coronado is here to help us out with that. She's founder of Macro Policy Perspectives and a professor at UT Austin. Hi, Julia.

[Julia Coronado]

Good morning.

[Sabri Benishore]

So this. This jobs report is from April. So it includes a solid month of higher gas prices from the war with Iran. Is that. Is that showing up at all?

[Julia Coronado]

It's not really showing up. In fact, what we're seeing instead is the impact of a record warm April with jobs created in seasonal sectors like retail, construction, leisure, and hospitality. So we do see a boost from weather. Too early, really, to see a drag from the war and higher gas prices.

[Sabri Benishore]

I think the number of people who are newly unemployed. So less than five weeks increased a bit by 358,000. How do we square that with, you know, a whole bunch of jobs being created?

[Julia Coronado]

Right. Well, the report comes from two different surveys one of households, one of firms. Firms show plenty of job creation. On the household side, we're seeing unemployment held steady, but the labor force participation rate fell. We're seeing really the impact of an aging workforce and older workers leaving in pretty significant numbers now. So it's a little bit of a softer story on the household sector side. And wage growth also was a little on the soft side. So I think the labor market is stable, but the jobs number probably overstates the strength.

[Sabri Benishore]

Julia Coronado, founder of Macro Policy Perspectives thank you so much.

[Julia Coronado]

My pleasure.

[Sabri Benishore]

Instagram will stop encrypting private messages between users starting today. That means Metta will be able to see everyone's dms. Metta had been criticized by child safety groups and law enforcement for allowing encrypted messaging. Meta Stock is up a quarter of a percent and inflation has arrived at FIFA. FIFA is tripling the price of its best available tickets to the World cup to $32,970. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said if they sold them for too cheap quote, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price. So I guess if you can't beat the scalpers, join them. But to be fair, NBA Finals tickets have sold for 65,000 doll.

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right

[Sabri Benishore]

now you can help unlock $25,000 from the Marketplace Investors Challenge Fund. That means your support for the Marketplace Morning Report can go even further, helping keep trusted economic reporting free for everyone. You can answer the call of the Marketplace investors who gave extra to the challenge fund contribute one of the 500 gifts that's needed by Friday to unlock that $25,000 in extra funding. You can donate now at marketplace.org or click the link in the show notes Yesterday the U.S. court of International Trade ruled that President Trump's latest round of tariffs were illegal. These were the 10% tariffs the administration imposed after a previous batch of tariffs was also ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. But this latest ruling is narrow. It only blocks the tariffs for a couple of companies in the state of Washington and these tariffs expire anyway in July. After that the administration is preparing a whole new bunch of more long term import taxes. And meanwhile the US Businesses who reminder are the ones paying these tariffs are getting tossed around on the waves. Just before we got this ruling, we checked in with one of those businesses to see how the refund process was going for that first round of tariffs. Rachel Rosner is the owner and founder of Eldon Street Tea Shop in Reston, Virginia. How are you doing?

[Rachel Rosner]

Hi Sabri, thanks for having me on.

[Sabri Benishore]

U sell tea. There are not a lot of places you can grow tea in the US So you gotta import. How disruptive Remind everyone were the tariffs for you last year?

[Rachel Rosner]

The tariffs were very disruptive. This is the first time ever that a full tariff on tea had ever been in existence. And so it was very impactful because we get 100% of our tea from overseas. Especially if you're wanting more specific kinds of tea, different varietals, you can only get that overseas in specific regions around the world. And so with the global tariffs, it was very impactful for our business.

[Sabri Benishore]

Now last time we talked you were mulling over whether it would be possible or worthwhile to try and get a refund on tariffs. Where did you end up landing on that?

[Rachel Rosner]

We're still mulling it over. We have begun looking at the process. It is a lot of headache and it is a lot of uncertainty. I have a couple other business owner acquaintances who have gone through the process who have said that the process online has been fairly streamlined and easy. However, they really haven't had any communication since they filled out the application. So they're kind of in limbo. They don't know what they're going to be getting, they don't know when they're going to be getting and so they just kind of feel like it was for nothing at this point.

[Sabri Benishore]

Some businesses had to take out loans to pay for tariffs or front load imports, so they owe interest or they had to pay consultants to help them figure out their supply chains. These are costs that are not going to get refunded with tariffs. Which is a long way of asking, you know, do refunds or eventual lower prices for you mean you can lower prices for your customers?

[Rachel Rosner]

Yes, I will definitely say, just to continue with your last question, that Also, the shipping situation with the gas prices has not lowered our costs either. So that's like an added on right now to what we had to pay in tariffs, plus extra shipping costs for getting tea here. And so it's all playing into each other. We did have to take out a loan, a small loan to cover some of the tariff costs. And yeah, that is not covered through the refund process and we still have to pay that back.

[Sabri Benishore]

Rachel Rosner is owner and founder of Eldon Street Tea Shop in Reston, Virginia.

[Rachel Rosner]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for having me on.

[Sabri Benishore]

Our executive producer is Nancy Fargali. Our digital team includes Antoinette Brock, Emily McCune, and Dylan Yetinen. Our engineers are Brian Allison, Sam Keenan and David Schreck. In New York, I'm Sabri Benishore with the Marketplace Morning Report. From APM American Public Media.

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