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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.

How many people got hired and how many people were unemployed last month? We’ll find that out later this morning when the government releases U.S. jobs numbers. Economists are predicting hiring remained steady compared to the month before. We’ll hear why the figures are important to the Federal Reserve, as well as what they hint about AI’s impact on the workforce. Plus, how can cities get out of “a real estate doom loop?”

From the BBC World Service: Workers belonging to the largest union at tech giant Samsung have gone on strike for the first time ever over a pay dispute. Then, McDonald’s no longer has the exclusive right to market chicken Big Mac. Also, and nearly 2 million more teenagers will be eligible to vote in EU elections, and a woman who says she inspired “Baby Reindeer” is suing Netflix for defamation and damages.

It’s cornered the market for boomers. Now, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta hopes to make Facebook once again a favorite social media app for young adults. Plus, the Wall Street Journal reports E*Trade is considering whether to give the boot to user Roaring Kitty, who helped ignite the 2021 meme stock craze. In case you missed it, yes, the craze is back. But first, there’s yet another open letter on AI. This whistleblower letter comes from more than a dozen current and former employees at major AI companies. They warn of the risks posed by the technology being developed. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Natasha Mascarenhas, reporter at The Information, for her take on this week’s tech news.

The European Central Bank delivered on its promise of June interest rate cuts, its first since 2019. The U.S. Federal Reserve is still deciding whether to do the same this year. But what the ECB does won’t affect the Fed’s decision, since European interest rates don’t impact U.S. job growth or prices. Also in this episode, the history of the federal jobs report, the cost of congestion pricing and the future of tourism on the Rio Grande.

The European Central Bank is joining Canada in cutting interest rates after months and months of holding them steady. But the U.S. Federal Reserve isn’t likely to follow suit, at least not yet. We’ll explain why. Then, we’ll dig deeper into the political and financial motivations for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s abrupt decision to block congestion pricing in New York City. Plus, what antitrust investigations into Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI could mean for AI mania.

Here’s everything we talked about today:


“European Central Bank Cuts Interest Rates for the First Time Since 2019” from The New York Times
“ECB: Interest rates are coming down in Europe. The Fed won’t follow yet” from CNN
“Canada becomes first G7 nation to cut interest rates” from Reuters
“Advocates for congestion pricing want Governor Hochul to think about long-term benefits” from ABC7 New York
“Big Auto And The Death Of Traffic Congestion Reform” from The Lever 
“Banerji: Seeing a true mania in Nvidia and meme stock trading” from CNBC
“Angel Reese: People watch WNBA for me too, not just one person!” from ESPN
“The ugly discourse surrounding Caitlin Clark” from The Washington Post

Join us tomorrow for Economics on Tap! The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern. We’ll have news, drinks, and play a round of Half Full/Half Empty!