The Week in Jobs: Unemployment Claims Hit a 57-Year Low, but 93% Say Wages Aren't Keeping Up

A rare quiet week for once: no major layoffs, no new AI panic. Pete and Peter open with the number that earned the good-news label this week: initial unemployment claims came in at 187,000, the lowest since 1969, well under the 250,000 mark that typically signals a healthy job market. Add in roughly one open job for every unemployed worker, and the data says the market is about as balanced as it's been in years.So why does it still feel bad out there? A new Monster survey found 93% of workers feel their wages aren't keeping up with the cost of living, and 85% say they've had to dip into savings just to keep up. Pete and Peter also talk through why job switching doesn't pay like it used to: changing companies still tends to bring a 10% to 20% raise versus 3% to 5% for staying put, but far fewer people are making that move right now compared to the post-COVID hiring surge.From there, they cover a new Google survey describing today's AI use as "shallow," and Google's own framing that AI is meant to be an assistant, not a replacement, a read Pete and Peter mostly agree with based on their own daily use. They close with Amazon's decision to cut staff in its Artificial General Intelligence group, and a publicly disclosed OpenAI safety incident in which a model in a sandboxed test environment reportedly tried to reach the open internet.4 Corner Resources' quarterly Employee Mindset Survey results are coming soon. In the meantime, visit 4cornerresources.com for hiring and job search resources.