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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. For our last 15 minutes today with all this contradictory economic news swirling around, we're going to have a call in for anyone who has lost a job or gotten a job recently. 212-433 WNYC. 212-433-9692. Did you hear about Friday's jobs report that made a lot of people's eyes pop out because the US added so many more jobs than economists expected, 500,000 plus jobs just in the month of January. Were you one of those people? 212-433 WNYC. On the other hand, are you a tech or a media employee perhaps who was laid off in January? Those things were happening too. 212-433-9692 or tweet @BrianLehrer.

If you've just gotten a job or you've just lost a job in the month of January, or really anytime, let's say in the last few months. If you've been confused about the state of the economy lately, you are not alone. It seems like every other day a friend or former colleague of one of you is announcing a layoff at their company, and yet the January jobs report came out on Friday, as I say, showing some of the strongest numbers the American economy has seen in decades that over 500,000 new jobs means unemployment is at its lowest rate in over 50 years. They're saying not since 1969.

Today in this call-in, we want to put some human faces on this contradictory job market that we have right now. If you got a new job, or you got laid off from your job in January, or let's say any time in the last several months, tell us about the job you just got or the job you just lost, and what you think it says about what's going on in your industry. 212-433 WNYC, 433-9692. There's 500,000 plus added jobs number must have really surprised a lot of people not directly affected because one of the other news headlines we've been hearing in recent weeks.

Google, Microsoft, Spotify, others, all announcing rounds of layoffs, today it's Dell computers that's in the news today, and horrifying stories about people going to work and being unable to enter the building or finding out all of their accounts have been logged out before they even hear the official news of anyone telling them that they've been laid off. Even at Dell, Dell's leadership said market conditions continue to erode with an uncertain future. They're laying off about 5% of their workforce, that's in today's news according to market watch.

If you one of the tech workers who were affected by this round of layoffs, are you planning on staying in the industry? What do you think is going on? Tech workers who've been recently laid off and can listen at this time of day for that reason. What's next for you? Do you think more tech sector jobs are in your future or is this going to force you to look elsewhere? Make a career change? 212-433-9692. For those of you who are getting jobs, key industries that grew were hospitality, professional and business services, government jobs, and healthcare. If you're one of the people who just started a new job, congratulations.

Maybe it's a night shift so you can still listen now, and how it's going for you and what do you think about the state of the industry that you just got hired into. Did you get better pay to join your company or your agency than you thought you might because they're having labor shortages in those fields? You get the idea, there's a whole array of things you can talk about. This is for anyone who has just lost their job or just gotten a new job in the month of January or any recent month, 212-433 WNYC. Tell us about your experience and what you think is going on in the industry that hired you or laid you off. 212-433-9692 and we'll take your calls right after this.

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Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Yes, with all this whiplash contradictory economic news, this is a call-in for anyone who has lost a job or gotten a new job in the last month or any time just recently. It looks like Robert in Jersey City is on both sides of this. Hi Robert. You're on WNYC.

Robert: Hi everyone. Thanks for taking the call.

Brian Lehrer: Sure. You got laid off in December, I see.

Robert: Yes, that's correct. I'm actually a tech recruiter. I work for a lot of great Fortune 500 companies, and there's a huge portion made in USA. There's a lot of jobs in manufacturing and I've actually, within the last one month, I've actually gotten three offers all from the manufacturing sector instead of the software, which I'm part of.

Brian Lehrer: Do you think you're going to take one of those jobs?

Robert: Yes. Actually accepted one of them. I don't see any shortage of jobs, especially being in recruiting and HR.

Brian Lehrer: Robert, congratulations on being able to turn that around so quickly. Suhagi, am I saying your name right, I apologize if not, in Hazlett. You're on WNYC. Hi there.

Suhagi: Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my call. Yes, you did pronounce my name correctly. I'm actually teaching immunology and I left academia in 2019 right before the pandemic to work for a small biotech company out in San Francisco. Became remote due to the pandemic, and unfortunately during a restructure they decided to lay off 35% of us in July.

Some of us still remain unemployed including myself. I got positions fairly quickly, sorry, child in the background, however, nothing that really helps in terms of salary and the hours that I need considering I have children too. I know in cell therapy there's not a shortage of jobs, but they all keep hiring internally. I get the final rounds and then they decide to go with someone internally.

Brian Lehrer: Another baby makes their radio debut on the Brian Lehrer show. What's your baby's name?

Suhagi: That's Nandini.

Brian Lehrer: Hello Nandini. I'm sure you're very cute. Well, Suhagi, does it help? Do you need to look elsewhere? The story that we heard from the previous caller was really interesting about-- unless you have to go and take care of your baby, which I would understand.

Suhagi: No she's fine. I've brought in my search-

Brian Lehrer: Go ahead.

Suhagi: Sorry. I've brought in my search from application scientists tback to bench work, just not really willing to go back to academia after most academics postdocs are treated. Trying to just stay within the field, but stay with biotech or pharma in a sense.

Brian Lehrer: Suhagi, good luck out there. Thank you for checking in. Rachel in Red Hook, you're on WNYC. Hi Rachel.

Rachel: Hi Brian. Yes, I'm like your first caller. I was laid off on January 11th and I got a job offer on January 30th.

Brian Lehrer: Was it in the same industry or different industry, if you're willing to identify?

Rachel: It's basically the same industry. It was media measurement and now it's similar. It's basically survey research.

Brian Lehrer: It's like how many people are listening to the show or using a website, that thing.

Rachel: Yes, exactly.

Brian Lehrer: Does it say anything about the industry that there was that churn that affected you personally? You lost a job at one company that does it, and you got hired at another company that does the same thing, it sounds like, does it say anything about the larger state of things?

Rachel: My former company underwent a restructuring, went from a public company to a private company. I think they want to get their returns on their investment more quickly. I think that's how all companies operate bottom line.

Brian Lehrer: Rachel, thank you very much. Congratulations on your new job. Alan in Midtown East, you're on WNYC. Hi Alan.

Alan: Hi Brian. First-time caller longtime listener. I have been on SSD for 20 years, and recently I've been wanting to go back to work. I landed a job for Allied Universal, a security company here in New York City. I was surprised by the numbers.

Brian Lehrer: Numbers, meaning how much the pay is?

Alan: Well, no. By how many people do you know got jobs back in January.

Brian Lehrer: Did your own getting hired reflect something about some kind of industry or more places hiring private security? If I understood the nature of your company correctly or anything?

Alan: I had went through Workforce 1 and I was just taken back because of a how easy or quickly they had hired me after not working for 20 years.

Brian Lehrer: Glad you're back. Glad it's working for you, Alan. Thank you very much. Lily in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi Lily.

Lily: Hi Brian. How are you?

Brian Lehrer: Good, thanks.

Lily: I just had my third digital media lay-off -

Brian Lehrer: Oh, no.

Lily: - since the pandemic started. It's not great, but I don't know that there's any hope long-term for media full-time employment for me in the future. I'm actively looking to move in the streets.

Brian Lehrer: What does it say that you kept finding jobs and then kept losing them? Obviously, I don't mean about you, but about the industry.

Lily: Sure. Hopefully nothing about me personally. The first one was a result of the pandemic when everybody panicked and laid everybody off. The next one had a company that got acquired and then there was lay-offs, and then the third one is, I think, panicked for the recession. In media in general anytime there's any kind of hiccup in the market whatsoever. The fear that the advertising dollars are going to dry up leads to almost immediate lay-offs to show that they're still going to be profit in the next quarter at the board meeting. I think that's what it is, is that it feels like people are the most disposable thing in media companies, and that's it. It feels terrible, honesty because you feel like you're the one -

Brian Lehrer: Sounds terrible

Lily: -creating all the work.

Brian Lehrer: Good luck with whatever transition you make, Lily. Thank you. Izzy in Crown Heights, you're on WNYC. Hi Izzy. You and your baby I think are going to get the last word.

Izzy: Oh, we're here. Hey Brian. I talked to you in November of 2020 when healthcare workers were feeling the brunt of the pandemic and everybody was hating on us. I'm a veterinarian. I stopped working for about a year and started back at work a little bit in January mostly because I could negotiate, childcare with them. They pay for my babysitter, which not everyone's going to do, but I have found a couple of practices, they're so desperate in our industry now. I don't know if you heard the free economics episode last night.

Brian Lehrer: Did not.

Izzy: It's incredible everybody should listen to it, how corporations are taking over our industry and we have such a high turnover. Yes, the need is there so much so that I have been able to negotiate childcare with my employers. It's amazing.

Brian Lehrer: Izzy, congratulations on that. Another baby makes his or her radio debut on The Brian Lehrer show. What's your baby's name?

Izzy: His name is Comfrey.

Brian Lehrer: That's a beautiful name. Hi, comfrey.

Izzy: [unintelligible 00:13:34]

Brian Lehrer: You're on the radio. You're famous now. Izzy, thank you. Good luck out there. All right, an interesting report from another industry there to wrap it up. I think maybe we learned a few things along the way there.

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