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Pandemic wage gains were just a fluke
Jan 4, 2021

Pandemic wage gains were just a fluke

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While wage gains have been strong during the pandemic, economists predict wages are likely to stagnate for returning service workers. Plus, Google's employees unionize.

Segments From this episode

Wages spike in the pandemic — but it's just a fluke

Jan 4, 2021
In the recovery this year, wages are likely to stagnate for returning service workers, economists predict.
Fast-rising wages during the pandemic are an anomaly. While most higher-paid professionals were able to work from home, millions of lower-paid service workers lost jobs and income.
Filmstudio via Getty Images

Three small businesses weigh in on the pandemic holiday season

Jan 4, 2021
Marketplace has been following three American small businesses during this unprecedented holiday retail season. Here's how things went.
The quiet interior of Carr Mill Mall in Carrboro, North Carolina, where Ali Cat Toys is located.
Irene Kesselman

What Google's union means for Silicon Valley

Jan 4, 2021
This union's main aim is to support employee activism, rather than negotiate a contract.
Google employees stage a walkout over sexual harassment in New York in 2018. Some employees of the giant internet company have created a union to support worker activism.
Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images

As the pandemic continues, demand for travel nurses is up. Pay keeps rising, too.

Jan 4, 2021
Hospitals compete for these skilled personnel, some of whom make $8,000 a week. But the work is difficult and there can be tension with colleagues.
A nurse cares for a COVID-19 patient at a hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Dec. 4, 2020.
Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images

Music from the episode

Tiger Joon Moon
Cariño The Marías
Just a Friend Biz Markie
Lance Jr. Courtney Barnett
A Long Walk Jill Scott
Kamikaze

The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer
Maria Hollenhorst Producer II
Sean McHenry Director & Associate Producer II