Segments From This Episode

• Omicron’s peak coincided with key week for jobs data

  by Matt Levin

  

  The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “reference week,” used to calculate employment, included Jan. 12 — when omicron was at its worst.

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• Rising commodity prices suggest more inflation is on the way

  by Sabri Ben-Achour

  

  The cost of commodities has gone way up, and spendy raw materials suggest more inflation in 2022.

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• This microbusiness owner is riding a roller-coaster

  by Kai Ryssdal and Daisy Palacios

  

  Running a microbusiness in a pandemic economy is tough. Businesses that rely on human interaction have to be creative to survive.

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• From Alaska to Washington, one couple’s story of paid family leave

  by Marielle Segarra

  

  U.S. federal law requires companies to give workers 12 weeks off a year for family medical situations — unpaid. Whether or not workers get paid leave depends on what state they live in.

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• She made Airbnbs across the country her home and office — with her little dog, too

  by Maria Hollenhorst

  

  Remote work allowed young professional Nataliea Abramowitz to sample life in eight states over about eight months.

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