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Breaking Job News: JD Vance Warns More Job Cuts, AI Divide, & Amazon's Massive Holiday Hiring Plan

• Pete Newsome

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Government services have hit pause as the federal shutdown drags into Day 13. Agencies go dark, unions sue, and the White House tests the limits of executive power, leaving millions wondering how long the stalemate will last. 

In this episode, host Pete Newsome unpacks what the shutdown really means for federal employees, contractors, and local economies, and why the next big decision could come from the courts, not Congress.

Then we turn to the American consumer. Confidence held steady in October, but optimism is fragile. Inflation, tighter budgets, and a softer job market are reshaping how households spend, save, and borrow heading into the holidays.

Meanwhile, a new report confirms the AI divide is real: workers using AI daily earn 40% more than those who don’t. Gen Z professionals are seeing the biggest jumps, but with most employers offering little to no AI training, self-directed learning has become one of the fastest ways to boost your career and earning potential.

Pete also breaks down Amazon’s plan to hire 250,000 new workers across the U.S., including rural communities, offering seasonal pay near $19/hour and a potential bridge to long-term roles in logistics and e-commerce.

News Articles:
1. Vance warning: https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-vance-trump-furlough-congress-fired-6179d3359c0d6f547e963822d67c28b4
2. Consumer sentiment: https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/
3. Nexford University AI readiness report: https://www.nexford.edu/research
4. Amazon hiring for the holidays: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/amazon-seasonal-holiday-jobs-2025

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

Pete Newsome:

Today's job market headlines show AI is creating new winners in the workforce. Amazon is adding a quarter million positions for the holidays, and a new survey shows how American consumers are feeling. But first, the federal shutdown has now entered its 13th day, and things are looking increasingly worse for government workers. Vice President J.D. Vance said over the weekend that the longer this goes on, the deeper and more painful the cuts will be.

Pete Newsome:

More than 4,000 federal employees have already received termination notices, and hundreds of thousands remain furloughed without pay. Agencies have gone dark and unions are suing. They're arguing that firings are illegal under the Anti-Deficiency Act, which limits what the government can do when funding lapses. Vice President Vance defended the cut, saying the administration must prioritize paying the military and providing food assistance for low-income families over what he called bureaucratic jobs.

Pete Newsome:

So he's not holding back. He's calling it like he sees it, whether you agree with him or not. And my take is we're continuing to watch the White House test the limits of its executive power. That seems to be the same story, different day lately, and that it will ultimately be decided in the courts. We can't expect that the Republicans and Democrats are going to agree on much of anything right now. But that's not my focus. I'm worried about the labor market. And from that perspective, permanent layoffs that can potentially happen as a result of this, especially at scale, will flood an already crowded job market.

Pete Newsome:

And you could argue that might be good for employers, but employers already have all the power right now in this market. That's been very clear as of late. And I just see it as bad news for the economy and specifically for anyone who is already out of work and looking. It's just going to make a bad situation even worse. And so, for all of our sakes, let's hope this shut down in sooner than later.

Pete Newsome:

In other news, according to the University of Michigan's latest consumer sentiment survey, how Americans currently feel didn't really change month over month with a reading of 55 in October compared to 55.1 in September. That sounds good on the surface, but when you consider that the sentiment is down 22% year over year, it doesn't sound good at all. It's a massive decline. And then when you zoom out, you look at the last 10 years, you see that optimism just hasn't recovered since its peak in early 2020, right before COVID hit, not even close.

Pete Newsome:

It went way down then and just hasn't bounced back. No surprise, the top concerns in the sentiment survey are increasing prices and the declining job market. Turning to more positive news, Nextford University recently published an AI readiness report. The results tell a very clear story that's worth paying attention to. Here's what they found. First, professionals who use AI daily earn 40% more on average than those who never use it.

Pete Newsome:

I'm not shocked to see that number, but I am surprised the gap is so wide. It's it's huge. And among Gen Z, the advantage is even bigger. Those who use AI daily earn 47% more and are 45% more likely to have recently been promoted. Unfortunately, it seems the organizations that they work for are behind the curve. Only 27% of employees say they have been given AI training of any kind. So while the companies are lagging, and it seems clear that they are, based on that number, at least the workers realize that AI fluency is worth developing.

Pete Newsome:

In fact, 31% of employees said they'd stay longer if their employer offered training. No great surprise that this data is telling us what we already know that AI literacy has definitely become career insurance. And in today's final headline, Amazon just announced it plans to hire 250,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees across the U.S. this holiday season. Seasonal workers will earn about $19 an hour, while regular employees average $23,000 an hour with benefits.

Pete Newsome:

Amazon says it's going to invest more than a billion dollars in compensation in perks. Many of the roles they're going to hire for for the holidays are in rural communities. That's a good thing. Those communities have been hit really hard. There's fewer jobs there already. So positive news, I'll take it. And for a lot of these jobs, the seasonal positions will turn into long-term careers, and that'll pay more. Amazon says they're pretty committed to that too. That if you stay on full time, typically you'll see about an 18% increase over three years. So while the government is a complete mess and consumer sentiment isn't high, Amazon is still betting on people spending.

Pete Newsome:

And I'll add to that, whether they should or not, we know it's happening. Credit card debt is also going up. But listen, that's a lot of jobs for a lot of people who need it at least to get them through the holiday season. So if you're interested in applying, go to hiring.com. And here's your fun fact for the day before I go. Queen Elizabeth II was a trained mechanic and truck driver during World War II. Now, most of us weren't alive then, very few were probably who's listening to this, but that is not the Queen Elizabeth that uh I think of. She died three years ago. Time really flies by.

Pete Newsome:

I noticed that today when I was uh looking at this fun fact. But to picture the Queen Elizabeth that um that I know of operating as a mechanic in World War II, I mean, good for her. Um she had an interesting life for sure. So that's it for today. Thank you for listening. Please like and subscribe, share with anyone you think might be interested. And I'll look forward to talking to you tomorrow.