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Cornering the Job Market: The Job News and Headlines You Need to Know for August 18, 2025

• Pete Newsome

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Welcome back to your go-to source for the latest job market news, where we break down the trends shaping work right now. 

The job market is shifting rapidly as AI reshapes how companies approach work. Duolingo’s CEO, once an alarmist about “robots are coming,” now insists that AI won’t mean layoffs but rather a rethinking of roles to boost productivity. His claim that engineers will guide AI instead of being replaced raises a bigger question: are workers training their own replacements, just as jobs once moved offshore?

Additionally, we discuss how MIT research provides some reassurance that AI is initially targeting outsourced jobs, rather than U.S. workers. Only about 3% of roles are affected today, though projections warn that up to 27% could eventually change. At the same time, we’re seeing what CNBC calls the “Great Stay”: employees clinging to jobs as optimism sinks and more CEOs eye cuts instead of hiring.

Meanwhile, Forbes highlights quirky economic signals, from payroll data to the “Men’s Underwear Index”, while California struggles with the nation’s highest unemployment at 5.5%. 

And as career paths evolve, it’s worth remembering that job hunting has always adapted, ever since Leonardo da Vinci drafted the first modern resume back in 1482.

News Articles:
1. Duolingo's CEO says he doesn't plan to lay off full-timers because of AI — but their jobs will change
2. AI is already displacing these jobs
3. ‘Job hugging’ has replaced job-hopping, consultants say
4. Forget BLS. Here’s How To Take The Economy’s Temperature Without Using Government Data
5. California unemployment rises to 5.5%, worst in the U.S., as tech falters: ‘It’s brutal out there’

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Blog Articles: https://www.4cornerresources.com/blog/

Pete Newsome:

Happy Monday everyone. I'm Pete from Four Corner Resources and here are the job headlines you need to know for today. First, duolingo's CEO just put a pause on his robots are coming. Message. Sent in an email from a few months ago. It caused a lot of panic at his company, but despite rolling out an AI first push, he's now saying no full-time employees will be laid off. Instead, marcus Von Ahn told the New York Times that AI is helping rethink roles, not shrink them. He said engineers won't be replaced, but will instead shift to tasks that will guide AI so that one person can accomplish more. That sounds great in theory, but does it also sound like they'll be teaching their replacement, because we all know that's never happened before? Oh wait, that's exactly what happens when jobs are sent offshore. Let's hope that's not the case here. Time will tell. Certainly something to monitor, but there's no question he definitely felt the heat from the message that he delivered a couple months back and he's trying to retract it. Hopefully means what he says.

Pete Newsome:

Now let's shift to some rare good AI news for US workers. This is based on an article in Axios this morning. They say that, according to MIT's State of AI and Business 2025 report, ai isn't taking US jobs yet. Instead, ai is quietly cutting contracts with offshore and outsourced workers. Instead, ai is quietly cutting contracts with offshore and outsourced workers. The report shows that only about 3% of roles are affected currently, but up to 27% of jobs could be AI replaced down the role, with outsourced jobs being impacted. The most Interesting 27% number. I think these numbers continue to be really arbitrary, much different than the 6% to 7% that was being talked about last week by Goldman Sachs that I shared. I think that was on Friday. The numbers are all over the place. No one really knows what's going to happen with AI, but I'll take the good news where we can find it and, as it relates to outsource jobs being cut instead of US jobs, I'll consider that a win.

Pete Newsome:

Moving on, according to a CNBC article, the Great Recession has become the Great Stay. It turns out that, after years of job hopping being the norm, many workers are now job hugging. Job hugging have you heard that one yet? A new term for me, again, I keep hearing these new terms. Job hugging have you heard that one yet? A new term for me? Again, I keep hearing these new terms.

Pete Newsome:

Job hugging is where employees are clinging to their roles like lifeboats. According to Korn Ferry, most employees plan to stay put for the next six months, as optimism in the job market has hit its lowest since 2023, and even top performers aren't moving unless the offer is nearly irresistible. The article goes on to say that more CEOs reported plans to shrink their workforce over the next 12 months and expand it, the first time that's occurred since 2020. And that's according to a conference board quarterly poll published last week. So again, job hugging. Look, that's not for good reason that they're staying. If they're worried and they're pessimistic about what's happening in the job market, I think that's in large part for good reason. But I will always recommend don't leave the job you're in unless you've secured another one. Go to something great. Don't just run away from something because you're not happy in that role. It's always tough to find a great job, always something to be taken very seriously. So I think it's okay that workers are job hugging right now, but we know that workers should and are always looking for their next great opportunity. So continue to do that too. Just don't jump at the first thing that comes your way, all right.

Pete Newsome:

So this morning, forbes published an article saying we don't need BLS data to gauge how well the economy is doing. It gives us 11 indicators to use instead. So here they are, I'm gonna power through them. One ADP payroll data, so that's their monthly national employment report. I talk about that a lot. I always report on it when it comes out. It's data that I really rely on the Truflation US Aggregate Inflation Index that uses blockchain to track inflation. Number three is the Hemline Index. Yes, actual hemlines. Apparently, the shorter the skirts, the better the economy. Number four nighttime lights and satellite imagery Brighter is better. Number five, the Forbes Cost of Living Extremely Well Index, which tracks the price of luxury goods. Number six the Big Mac Index tracks burger prices. Number seven the Help Wanted Online Index. I think that one speaks for itself.

Pete Newsome:

The lipstick effect Apparently, people buy even more lipstick when the economy is bad. I have to put some thought into why that might be. Use your own opinion on that one. The pawn shop index Unfortunately, that's probably a sad but true, really accurate indicator of how things go. The coffee shop index when expensive coffee shops aren't packed well, then things generally aren't good in the economy. And then, finally, the men's underwear index Apparently, men won't buy underwear when times are tight. They'll just wear it as long as they need to, or perhaps won't wear it at all. We don't need to think too much about that. But there you have it, the 11 indicators that we can probably rely on more than the BLS. I tend to agree with Forbes on that, because we just don't and can't trust the BLS data. And then, finally, for today, it's looking tougher for jobs in California. The unemployment rate climbed to 5.5% in July, which is now the highest among all US states and the worst it's been since December. And this compares to the national average, which has currently been hovering around 4.2%. So times are tough in California. Hopefully it gets better out there soon.

Pete Newsome:

And that's it with your headlines. And now your fun fact for today. The modern resume was invented by Leonardo da Vinci around 1482. He wrote a letter listing his skills and experiences to the Duke of Milan in hopes of securing employment as a military engineer. Now, we should all be extremely thankful. It probably wasn't a great resume. The world certainly has been much better off that Da Vinci took a much different career path than being a military engineer for the Duke of Milan. So there you go, your headlines, your fun fact. Thanks for listening, if you like what you've heard, please subscribe to the channel, share it with anyone you think might be interested, and I appreciate you watching. Thanks, talk to you tomorrow.