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Mitchell Hartman

Correspondent

SHORT BIO

Mitchell’s most important job at Marketplace is to explain the economy in ways that non-expert, non-business people can understand. Michell thinks of his audience as anyone who works, whether for money or not, and lives in the economy . . . which is most people.

Mitchell wants to understand, and help people understand, how the economy works, who it helps, who it hurts and why. Mitchell gets to cover what he thinks are some of the most interesting aspects of the economy: wages and inflation, consumer psychology, wealth inequality, economic theory and how it measures up to economic reality.

Mitchell was a high school newspaper nerd and a college newspaper editor. He has worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer, WXPN-FM, WBAI-FM, KPFK-FM, Pacifica Radio, the CBC, the BBC, Monitor Radio, Cairo Today Magazine, The Jordan Times, The Middletown Press, The New Haven Register, Oregon Business Magazine, the Reed College Alumni Magazine, and Marketplace (twice — 1994-2001 & 2008-present).

Mitchell has gone on strike (Newspaper Guild vs. Knight Ridder, Philadelphia, 1985) and helped organize a union (with SAG-AFTRA at Marketplace, 2021-23). Mitchell once interviewed Marcel Marceau and got him to talk.

Latest Stories (2,035)

How a slowing GDP might be good news for the economy

Jul 24, 2024
The Federal Reserve will be looking for signs that the economy is slowing in a manageable way so that it can cut interest rates.
“Sometimes, bad news is good news," says Paul Christopher at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. "And right now, a slowing economy is that bad news that’s really good news."
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Why tech billionaires are now flocking to Donald Trump

Jul 19, 2024
The flood of big tech names coming out publicly for Trump and the GOP is a sharp departure from Silicon Valley’s past political practices.
Support for Republicans from figures like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel comes in part from a strong libertarian, hands-off-my-business ideology, experts say.
Chip Somodevilla/ Getty Images

How do you feel about the economy? Your answer might depend on your party

Jul 12, 2024
There's a persistent partisan gap in consumer sentiment polling.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Real earnings outpace inflation, helping consumers offset price growth

Jul 11, 2024
Raises in real earnings help offset price increases but not all consumers share the benefits equally.
Even though real earnings have recently outpaced inflation, consumer sentiment is still pretty glum.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

What would you do to try and avoid a layoff?

Jul 10, 2024
Even with a comparatively low unemployment rate, layoffs are rising. A new survey lays out some of the sacrifices workers are willing to make to avoid that fate.
Between 30% to 40% of workers would be willing to take a demotion or a pay cut, make a longer commute or be relocated to avoid layoffs.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

Americans added more than $11 billion of consumer debt in May

Jul 9, 2024
The amount includes money owed on things like credit cards, auto loans and student loans. Delinquencies are also rising.
Loan delinquencies 90-days or more past due are now the highest in more than a decade. 
anchiy/Getty Images

June's jobs report indicates something we haven't seen in a while: normalcy

Jul 5, 2024
Conditions in the labor market increasingly look like they did before the pandemic.
Recent data shows a stable job market. To many, that's a relief after years of topsy-turvy pandemic-driven layoffs and labor shortages.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Labor Department's June report showed a cooling job market

Jul 5, 2024
We know the labor market is slowing, but by how much? And what does that mean for wage growth?
Economists are awaiting the release of the June jobs report, which will provide updates on the nation's labor market. Above, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Lumber is cheap, but building or renovating a home isn’t

Jul 1, 2024
The price of lumber has plummeted since early in the pandemic, but other building materials are up 30% from 2019.
Lumber prices have fallen, but other home construction materials have not followed suit.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Good riddance to the spring housing market

Jun 28, 2024
Sales were cold and prices were hot.
Demonstrators at the Supreme Court, which upheld an Oregon law that punishes homeless people for sleeping and camping outdoors.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images