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Cornering The Job Market: The News and Headlines You Need to Know for August 15, 2025

• Pete Newsome

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In this latest job market news episode, we’re tackling the trends, shifts, and surprises shaping the world of work right now. The solution to labor shortages isn’t complicated; it’s higher pay. Yet when Chicago Fed President Austin Goolsbee recently addressed hiring challenges, that simple fix didn’t make the cut.

We’ll also explore ZipRecruiter’s new venture, Breakroom, an employer review platform that sparks questions about trust, transparency, and how companies can protect their reputations.

Plus, we’ll unpack Goldman Sachs’ surprisingly optimistic prediction that AI will cause only a brief 6–7% unemployment bump during the transition, an outlook that might be dangerously understated given AI’s unprecedented capabilities.

And for remote workers, the laptop-friendly coffee shop is disappearing as more cafés prioritize table turnover over “work from anywhere” culture.

Tune in for fresh, practical insights into the evolving job market, perfect for both employers and job seekers navigating these changes.

News Articles:

1. Chicago Fed president wants to see a ‘few months of data’ on inflation to gauge economy’s health
2. Breakroom
3. My Cafe Dumped Me for Doing Work There
4. Employers cut recruitment costs amid recession fears
5. How Will AI Affect the Global Workforce?

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👋 FOLLOW PETE NEWSOME ONLINE:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petenewsome/
Blog Articles: https://www.4cornerresources.com/blog/

Pete Newsome:

Welcome to cornering the job market. For Friday, august 15th. Here are the headlines you need to know. On Wednesday, chicago Federal Reserve President Austin Goolsbee said there are parts of the job market where there's still basically labor shortages. He said it's very hard for people to find workers. He said it's very hard for people to find workers. Now that is interesting because you know what solves the labor shortage. Now this may surprise you, but I'm going to give away a secret here that apparently the Fed doesn't want you to know. But for any company who can't find workers here you go, offer better pay. Yep, that's it. If you pay more, your labor shortage will evaporate overnight. I know that's crazy, right, who knew? And another groundbreaking news the world is round. So there you have it. Now that that cat's out of the bag, we can move on with our lives, unbelievable.

Pete Newsome:

So have you discovered Breakroom? Yet it's another employee review site. This one is offered by ZipRecruiter. I'll share it here for you. I just discovered it this week. I think it's brand, but it gives employees the ability to take a survey and rate their employer.

Pete Newsome:

So let's see Chick-fil-A a 6.1. Now I thought everyone loved Chick-fil-A. Maybe not so much. Working there. Arby's not good. Green yellow red, maybe not so much working there. Arby's not good. Green yellow red. Trader Joe's all right, that's positive at 8.6.

Pete Newsome:

So, look, did we really need another employee review site in our life? I mean, we have Glassdoor, we have Indeed and only about a dozen others. So thanks, ziprecruiter for giving us something that the world definitely didn't need at this point. And look, people like these sites. I think I don't know that anyone really relies on them too much. But the problem that I have with them is they're anonymous. I mean, it could be for all poor Chick-fil-A. For all we know, it could be the marketing department from McDonald's and Wendy's and Burger King piling on to make Chick-fil-A look bad, right? Chick-fil-a has no way to defend themselves against this. So I really don't like the anonymity of those things. But no one listens to me on that. But we have it. So, breakroomcc, if you want to go and review your employer, check other ones out from ZipRecruiter. There you go.

Pete Newsome:

Goldman Sachs, goldman Sachs, we love Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs, goldman Sachs, we love Goldman Sachs. It's big and powerful. But they are forecasting a small short-lived bump in US unemployment only about half a percentage point as workers get shuffled around during AI transition. Now they say wider adoption could put 6% to 7% of US jobs at risk, especially among roles like programmers, accountants and admin assistants.

Pete Newsome:

But they say don't panic, the upheaval is expected to be transitory. Where have we heard that word before? Oh, I remember Inflation was supposed to be transitory. That's a terrible word to use and, as it relates to AI, I don't buy it. They say use and, as it relates to AI, I don't buy it. They say historically, tech disruptions like this bounce back within two years. Okay, goldman Sachs, what tech disruption has been anything like AI? The answer none, never Nothing has been like AI. Now, I know I sound like Chicken Little every time I talk about this and I want to be proven wrong, but I think the disruption is going to be significant. Much more than 6% of US jobs being at risk Scares the hell out of me. Come on, goldman Sachs, I'm not buying it.

Pete Newsome:

So look, here's another story that came up, and this is from a staffing company, express employment, their massive organization. They did a survey um, where they did a harris poll of a thousand us hiring decision makers. They said 83 percent of employers are taking cost-saving measures due to fears of a recession. Okay so cost-saving measures? That's a good thing, right, companies should be doing that, but they're fearing a recession. I don't like the motivation. But here's what they're doing 45% are trimming unnecessary expenses, 29% are streamlining hiring processes and 26% are cross-training existing employees. Okay, my first question when I read this is no-transcript are distracting them from long-term priorities? Yeah, I guess they would, and that more than half have had to overhaul their strategic plans for this year. However, here's some good news 78% say their company will be in a better economic position by year end. Well, yeah, if you don't hire anyone and just let those positions go unfilled, I guess that's probably short-lived.

Pete Newsome:

But look, what I don't love about this article no one should is. I trust staffing companies because we are at the front line of hiring, and what I mean by that is when companies use a staffing company, it's because they have to, not because they need to or, I'm sorry, they have to, not because they want to, yes, they need to. And when it's subjective, when you have a choice of using a staffing company or not, when that cut happens, when that hiring starts to slow down, it's not a good sign for anyone, and so I've always believed that staffing companies feel at first. And so when these hiring managers that Express Employment is working with are expressing concern and taking steps, regardless of whether they should be taking them anyway, that's not a good sign for anyone. I don't like that at all.

Pete Newsome:

And then, finally, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal this week titled my Cafe Dumped Me for Doing Work. So if you thought coffee shops were a safe haven for anyone who can work from anywhere, it's no longer the case. Apparently, this writer found themselves being dumped by their favorite Manhattan cafe when this place banned laptops outright. So apparently freelancers and remote workers have been treating this cafe as their office. Now that happens, right, we know that. I mean, everyone loves working at a coffee shop. I certainly do. When I'm on vacation or traveling, I love parking in a coffee shop, but you can see why it's not great for business. Now this particular place just they outright banned it. They put signs up, apparently in bold, saying important announcement no laptops.

Pete Newsome:

Just reading, daydreaming and chit chat well, we all would love to just do that all day, but we still have to work. At least most of us do. Um, so I guess my message there is be cognizant of these businesses that need to make a profit. A lot of these coffee shops are small and they just can't afford to have their valuable table space taken up by people who aren't spending money. So I suspect there's a happy medium where, if you're going to work for an extended period of time, just make sure you're buying regularly. Don't just take free refills if they offer them, or no refills at all. Just be conscious of the fact that that company, that restaurant, needs to make money. So hopefully this writer finds a place to work in the near future. So that's it.

Pete Newsome:

Those are your five headlines to close the week. But here's your fun fact the first known employment agency opened in Paris in 1637, run by a former soldier who matched workers with jobs for a fee. Now, when I first read that, I immediately thought what kind of jobs? Now, this is the oldest employment agency we're talking about. We know what the oldest profession is, I don't need to say that out loud. And it was a former soldier. Reach your own conclusion on what kind of workers he was matching there. And we will close with that for today. So thanks for listening. Please like this video.

Pete Newsome:

I'm trying to get it off the ground. I'm kind of having fun doing this. Hopefully it's providing valuable information, but give me your feedback. If you don't like what I'm sharing, tell me. I have my finger on the pulse, as every staff at company does, of what is going on the job market. I live and breathe this all day long, but I'm trying to get out relevant information to everyone who will benefit from it. So subscribe, but give me your feedback along the way. If you want something different or if you disagree with anything I said, let me know that too. I'm always up for a good debate. Have a great weekend. See you next time.