Breaking Job News: Big Drop in Jobless Claims & Fiverr's Big Workforce Cuts Due to AI

In today's episode, host Pete Newsome discusses this morning's unemployment numbers released from the Department of Labor that show a significant drop in initial jobless claims to 231,000 for the week ending September 13th, from the previous week's 264,000. Despite this positive news, job seekers continue to face tough times, as highlighted by a Wall Street Journal article discussing the difficulty of job hunting.

Additionally, we look at Fiverr's announcement to cut 30% of its workforce to prioritize AI-driven operations, reflecting a broader trend in today's job environment.

Stay tuned for insights, advice, and the reality of the current job market landscape.

News Articles:
1. DOL Unemployment Claims Release: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases?agency=All&state=All&topic=All&year=all&page=0
2. WSJ Job Market: https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/how-to-handle-a-job-market-thats-worse-than-it-looks-7401a337?mod=careers_news_article_pos1
3. Fiverr Job Cuts: https://www.reuters.com/technology/online-marketplace-fiverr-lay-off-30-workforce-ai-push-2025-09-15/

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Episode Transcript

Pete Newsome (00:03):
In today's job market headlines.
This morning, the LaborDepartment reported that initial
jobless claims dropped to231,000 for the week ending
September 13th, which is downsharply from the prior week's
number of 264,000.
That's a decline of 33,000 weekover week, which is the biggest
drop we've seen in months.
So some potential good news ina very dark time for the job

(00:27):
market.
Continuing claims stayed flatat a rate of 1.3%, with almost2
million people currentlycollecting unemployment benefits
.
My takeaway is we're going tohave to wait and see what
happens next week to know how weshould feel about these numbers
.
We saw a really big spike andnow this is a good decline.
Keeping it in perspective,we're still above the levels we

(00:48):
were at this time last year.
It's just a moving target rightnow in the job market, so next
week's numbers will be reallytelling.
Meanwhile, the Wall StreetJournal published an article
today titled how to Handle a JobMarket that's Worse Than it
Looks.
The message is that, despiterelatively strong headlines,
many Americans feel job huntingis getting much harder, and is

(01:08):
much harder than it should be,and that's supported by
yesterday's rate cut by the Fed.
To me, that's anacknowledgement of just how much
weaker the labor market hasbeen than what the numbers were
showing.
So there's what's reported andthen there's reality and what
people feel and experiencefirsthand.
That's the reality of the jobmarket right now, and it's not

(01:31):
good.
The article profiles a coupleof job seekers with what has
really become anall-too-familiar story Months
without interviews, resumefatigue, just lots of
frustration with the lack ofsuccess, and there's also a
feeling of guilt for beingunemployed.
Now nobody should feel thatright now it is not your fault
if you're taking all the rightsteps, and I know so many job
seekers are.
The article suggests thatnetworking is a great thing to

(01:55):
do right now, but I will tellyou that is true, but it's one
of many things you should do asa job seeker.
You have to cover all yourbases and it is a grind, it is
frustrating, it is humbling.
I won't sugarcoat what athorough job search requires in
the current market, but as anowner of a staffing agency, I

(02:16):
can tell you that there is hope.
Our clients are hiring.
I talk to my peers around thecountry on practically a daily
basis and many of us have seenan uptick in the last couple of
weeks.
So summer was pretty slow.
It seems like a lot of peoplewere vacationing not a lot of
activity but everyone that I'vespoken with in the past two

(02:38):
weeks has reported that they areoff to a really good start in
September and as a staffingcompany, that means your clients
are hiring.
So the companies that yousupport have job openings, and
that is a really positive trend.
So I rely on that experienceand knowledge and those
firsthand conversations a lotmore than what the data tells us
.
So don't give up hope.
Things may be trending in abetter direction Now.

(03:00):
If you have questions and youneed help in your job search,
let me know in the comments.
This is what I do.
This is what I've done for along time is live and breathe
every day in the job market, andI would love to help anyone who
just needs it right now.
So let me know what you needhelp with in the comments.
I'll be happy to answer as manyquestions as I can.

(03:21):
In the final headline today,fiverr announced that they're
cutting 30% of their team todouble down on becoming AI first
.
Here we go again what seemslike an almost daily occurrence
companies announcing thatthey're replacing humans with
robots.
So for Fiverr, that means about250 employees are going to lose
their job and the move,according to CEO Micah Kaufman,

(03:42):
is a shift in how the companywants to work towards automation
and becoming leaner, with fewermanagement layers, more
productivity per person.
Oh, of course they want moreproductivity per person.
I mean, their employees have tobe terrified right now knowing
that they're at risk of gettinglaid off at any second by AI.
Now Kaufman said that theirplan is to have an AI company

(04:04):
first that's leaner, faster,with a modern, ai-focused tech
infrastructure.
Okay, I mean that makes sense.
I get it, but what's gone fromthe CEO of Duolingo getting
blasted for saying that he wasgoing to replace humans with AI
agents just a couple of monthsago?
Now these CEOs are coming outand saying it constantly.

(04:29):
This is not just a cost cutting, one-off.
Fiverr and others are signalingthat AI isn't optional anymore.
This is not a future thing.
It is happening now.
Acknowledge it and protect yourlivelihood.
Don't count on anyone else todo it for you.
That's my message on this very,very important topic't count on
anyone else to do it for you.
That's my message on this very,very important topic, and I
will continue to share it asoften as possible every time I

(04:51):
see a story like this and ourfun fact for the day, although
that last story wasn't very fun.
Listening to music can makepeople more productive when
doing repetitive work, but itcan slow them down when doing
cognitive tasks, and that isvery consistent with my personal
experience.
There's certain things I canlisten to music and do and feel
like I'm productive, but, man,there's other things where I

(05:13):
just can't focus on that, whileI'm trying to concentrate on
something else and I see my kidsdo it all the time they study
listening to music.
I don't get it.
Maybe young people's brains aremore evolved because they've
grown up with having technologyin their hands almost 24-7.
So maybe they can split theirthoughts.
I can't, but there's your factfor the day and those are your

(05:35):
headlines.
Thank you for listening.
Please like and subscribe,share with anyone who you think
may be interested and again, ifyou have questions about
anything I've said orspecifically a job search, let
me know.
I'm happy to help.
Talk to you soon.