Labor Market Mysteries; Plus, Signs Of Life

The U.S. unemployment rate is still high... so why are we in a labor shortage? Sam chats with <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/350888943/stacey-vanek-smith">Stacey Vanek Smith</a>, host of NPR's <a href="https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510325/the-indicator-from-planet-money"><em>The Indicator</em></a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/CardiffGarcia">Cardiff Garcia</a>, former co-host of <em>The Indicator</em>, about the American job market and why businesses are having such a hard time hiring. Then, as vaccines have become more widely available and pandemic restrictions lift across the country, people are wandering back out into the world, having experiences they haven't had in over a year. We drop in on a few of these: a dance party, a first date, a game with friends — the small pleasures folks have missed that now feel monumental.<br/><br/><em>You can follow us on Twitter </em><a href="https://twitter.com/NPRItsBeenAMin"><em>@NPRItsBeenAMin</em></a><em> and email us at </em><a href="mailto:samsanders@npr.org"><em>samsanders@npr.org</em></a><em>.</em>