A Strange Moment for the U.S. Economy

<p>Why is the economic recovery from the pandemic so uneven? Why are companies finding it hard to hire? And why are the prices of used cars surging?</p><p>Recent economic reports have commentators scratching their heads. We dig into the theories behind this strange moment for the American economy. </p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/ben-casselman?smid=pc-thedaily">Ben Casselman</a>, an economics and business reporter for The New York Times. </p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>April’s anemic job creation was so out of line with what other indicators have suggested that it will<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/upshot/jobs-report-surprise.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> take some time to unravel the mystery</a>.</li><li>The weak jobs report could help the Federal Reserve justify its patient approach to its policies. Officials have said that they want to see real, not just forecast, progress<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/business/jobs-report-fed-interest-rates.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> toward full employment and stable inflation</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>