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It’s Friday, folks! Today we’re talking about some news coming from former President Donald Trump, who has vowed to take away key spending powers from Congress if reelected. We’ll get into what that would mean in practice. Plus, we’ll talk through the latest from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which just announced it’ll be decreasing the number of households surveyed for important reports like the monthly jobs report. It’s a move that will make decoding what’s going on in our economy more a little more challenging. Plus, we’ll get into Bazooka gum, the rise of Uncrustables and Forever Stamps getting more expensive during a round of Half Full/Half Empty.

Here’s everything we talked about today:


“US Jobs Household Survey Size to Be Cut Due to Budget Constraints” from Bloomberg
“Trump plans to claim sweeping powers to cancel federal spending” from The Washington Post 
“Does Texas need its own stock exchange?” from Marketplace
“From school cafeterias to professional athletes, Uncrustables sandwiches are everywhere” from Marketplace
“Bazooka Candy’s CEO on the brand’s sweet athlete investment deal” from Marketplace
“Some New Yorkers are pushing for open streets to be permanent” from Marketplace
“Forever stamps are about to get more expensive — again” from Marketplace

We love to hear from you. Send your questions and comments to makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

May brought a surge of 272,000 new jobs, exceeding forecasts. Of those, 42,000 were in leisure and hospitality, benefitting from the summer travel season and increased wages. Also in this episode: a thousand options and nothing to watch. Netflix is getting a makeover for the first time in a decade, all with the goal of keeping subscribers hooked for longer.

Markets edge down; May jobs report shows strong growth; Emissions standards less ambitious; GameStop plunges despite meme stock attention.

Hey y’all! We’re working on a new season coming at you this August, but over the summer we’re trying something new: The Uncomfortable Book Club! Every other week our newsletter will showcase a book that made us think differently about life and how money messes with it. All the details are in this episode, and when you sign up before June 15 at Marketplace.org/bookclub, you’ll be entered to win some merch from the show. Happy reading!

The economy added 272,000 jobs in May; Fed officials to meet next week; GameStop announces quarterly sales decline; China’s exports increase.

We learned this morning that the U.S. economy added 272,000 new jobs in May. That’s a lot more than many economists predicted. On the other hand, the unemployment rate did tick up to 4%. We’ll put those numbers into context. Then, two federal agencies are launching two separate antitrust probes into the giants of the artificial intelligence race. And later: a look at candy maker Bazooka’s recent injection of investment money from major athletes.