Marketplace.org

The people behind September's job numbers

by

USC Annenberg School of Journalism

Oct 5, 2012 Newly hired, unemployed and looking, discouraged and out of work: Meet five Los Angeles area residents who put faces on the September employment picture.

7.8% unemployment rate is lowest since 2009

by

Mitchell Hartman

Oct 5, 2012 U.S. employers added 114,000 jobs in September, according to the Labor Department's latest report. Economists say that it's a slightly positive indicator -- but not a particularly strong one. Many say that even more jobs needed to be created to keep the economy growing. The drop in the unemployment rate may reflect revisions to data out during the summer that may be stronger than originally thought.

Looking for potential in future employees

Interview by

Jeff Horwich

Sep 25, 2012 If you're looking for a job or trying to get ahead in this economy, there's some age-old wisdom that would seem to apply: play up your accomplishments. Seems obvious, but maybe that's in fact not your best plan of attack.

Using big data to profile the perfect worker

Interview by

Kai Ryssdal

Sep 24, 2012 Large companies that hire thousands of hourly workers are turning to big data to streamline recruitment. Our own Kai Ryssdal gets profiled to see what his answers to a few simple questions tell us about what kind of employee he'd be.