Marketplace®
Every story is an economic story

PODCAST: Unemployment at 7 percent for the first time since 2008

The unemployment rate hit a 5-year low, with 203,000 jobs added in November. And, a look at how divestment helped stop apartheid in South Africa.

The U.S. unemployment rate has fallen to 7 percent, its lowest point in 5 years. Employees added 203,000 jobs to payrolls in November, a bit better than economists’ predictions of 180,000. But Julia Coronado, chief economist, North America for BNP Paribas in New York, says that like a lot of good economic news lately, this one comes with an asterisk. 

The death of Nelson Mandela is being mourned around the world — including university campuses where students, faculty and staff fought the apartheid in South Africa through disinvestment. In 1982, the University of Maine became one of the first 10 universities in the country to completely divest from the country.

Related Topics

Collections:

Latest Episodes

View All Shows
  • Marketplace
    11 hours ago
    25:22
  • Marketplace Morning Report
    19 hours ago
    5:52
  • Million Bazillion
    a day ago
    27:55
  • Marketplace Tech
    a day ago
    4:45
  • This Is Uncomfortable
    6 days ago
    27:11
  • Make Me Smart
    4 months ago
    24:33