Breaking Job News: Fed Governor Issues Job Market Warning & The Rise of ‘Hybrid Creep’

The job market is changing faster than anyone expected, and today’s headlines prove it.

In this episode of Breaking Job News, host Pete Newsome unpacks three critical developments shaping the future of work:

1. The Federal Reserve’s new focus on jobs: Fed Governor Michelle Bowman warns that “deteriorating labor market conditions” could force the Fed into rate cuts sooner than expected. What does this mean for businesses, hiring managers, and employees across industries?

2. AI’s takeover of tech jobs: According to Google, a staggering 90% of tech professionals now use AI daily, up from just 14% last year. But while AI boosts productivity for senior workers, it’s crushing opportunities for entry-level tech talent. With software engineering job postings down 71% since 2022, is AI rewriting the career path for an entire generation?

3. The rise of ‘hybrid creep’: Companies like Intel, NBC Universal, and Starbucks are quietly dialing back flexibility, steadily increasing required office days. With 34% of employees now back in the office four or more days a week (up from 23% just a year ago), are we watching the slow death of remote work?

News Articles: 
1. Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman's speech on the job market: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/bowman20250923a.htm
2. Google report on tech workers using AI: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/tech/google-study-90-percent-tech-jobs-ai
3. All you need to know about the 'hybrid creep': https://www.businessinsider.com/hybrid-creep-employers-increasing-rto-days-office-2025-9

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Episode Transcript

Pete Newsome (00:03):
Today's big job market headline comes from a
speech Federal Reserve GovernorMichelle Bowman gave this
morning where she indicated theFed isn't just watching
inflation right now.
They're focused closely on thejob market, she said, focused
primarily on the inflation sideof the dual mandate.
Now that we have seen manymonths of deteriorating labor

(00:28):
market conditions, it is timefor the committee to act
decisively and proactively toaddress decreasing labor market
dynamism and emerging signs offragility.
In my view, the recent data,including the estimated payroll
employment benchmark revisions,show that we are at serious risk
of already being behind thecurve and addressing
deteriorating labor marketconditions.
Should these conditionscontinue, I am concerned that we

(00:51):
will need to adjust policy at afaster pace and to a larger
degree going forward.
Okay, so they think inflation'sin check, but the job market is
heading in the wrong direction.
That's not news.
I wish they would have arrivedat that conclusion sooner.
It's been pretty obvious.
All the signs were there.
It didn't take this majorrevision that was just announced
for us to realize that, butnonetheless it's where they are

(01:14):
now.
Bowman went on to say I'mconcerned that the labor market
could enter into a precariousphase and there is a risk that a
shock could tip it into asudden and significant
deterioration.
Now that isn't necessarily afive alarm fire, but it's
heading in that direction.
I'll give her credit.
She indicated that policy needsto be forward-looking and not

(01:37):
just chasing last month'sinflation or employment data.
I think the federal governmenthas a history of doing that.
The Fed specifically has ahistory of doing that.
The Fed specifically has ahistory of doing that, and if
someone is willing to lookforward, we will definitely
benefit.
We just had a big rate cut.
This speech indicates to me aclear signal that there are more
to come sooner than later, andI'm glad they don't want the job

(02:00):
market to get worse.
Hopefully they act soon.
In other news, google justdropped a stat that should catch
everyone's attention.
90% of technology workers nowuse AI on the job.
That is a massive leap fromjust 14% last year.
These findings come fromGoogle's Dora Research Division,
based on a survey of 5,000global technology professionals.

(02:20):
And at Google itself, ai isn'toptional.
Ryan Salva, who overseesGoogle's coding tools, told CNN
if you are an engineer at Google, it is unavoidable that you
will be using AI as part of yourdaily work.
But it's worth noting that justbecause everyone's using it
doesn't mean everyone trusts it.
Nearly half of the developersurveyed said they only somewhat

(02:42):
trust AI-generated code, while23% trust it a little.
Only 20% trust it a lot.
And when it comes to results,31% said AI slightly improved
code quality, while 30% said ithad no impact.
This explosion of AI use ishappening while entry-level
technology jobs are shrinkingrapidly.
The New York Fed recentlyreported unemployment for

(03:05):
computer science grads now topsfields like art history and
indeed shows softwareengineering job postings are
down 71% since February 2022.
So AI is clearly reshaping thecareer ladder.
It's helping experiencedengineers go faster, but it's
making it increasingly difficultfor new grads to get their foot
in the door.
So that's the real story here.

(03:26):
To me is AI is unavoidable.
We know that in every aspect oflife, specifically in
technology.
But the question is less aboutadoption and more about whether
the industry can balance thoseefficiency gains with the
opportunities that need to bethere for the next generation of
workers.
So we'll have to see whathappens there as time goes on.

(03:47):
Our final headline todayaccording to Business Insider,
there's a new workplace buzzwordmaking the rounds.
Yes, we have another one Hybridcreep.
It describes how employers areslowly but steadily ratcheting
up the number of days employeesmust be in the office.
Intel just raised its in-officerequirement from three days a
week to four, and NBC Universaland Starbucks recently made

(04:08):
similar moves.
It's happening on a very, veryregular basis right now, almost
daily.
According to a new Owl Labssurvey of 2,000 US workers, 34%
must now be on-site at leastfour days a week, up from 32% in
2024 and only 23% in 2023.
The CEO of Owl Labs calls itthe boiling frog concept.

(04:30):
Rather than forcing workersback all at once, companies are
turning up the heat gradually,so employees adapt without, I
guess, jumping out of the pot.
Wharton professor Peter Capellisays this incremental approach
isn't about pushing workers out.
Well, I think many people wouldargue with that, but he said
nobody's quitting now anyway andpoints out that turnover has

(04:52):
slowed dramatically.
Okay, that may be true, butthat is because right now, it's
an employer's market.
Employees don't have the luxuryof just being able to jump from
job to job right now, becausethey don't like what their
employer's doing and that's.
They feel handcuffed right now.
There is no question about that, and employers are wielding
this power, so I won't be naive.

(05:13):
I think it would be naive tosay that workers are okay with
it.
Workers don't have any choice.
That's what's really going onNow.
Interestingly, after saying that, the Owl Lab survey also found
that 21% of employees now saythat they'd like to be on site
four days a week.
Who are those employees?
I don't know them, but thatsaid, 37% who took this survey

(05:38):
also said that they woulddecline a job offer from a
company that didn't haveflexible hours, and to me,
that's what it should be aboutflexibility.
Yes, you may think it'simportant for your workers to be
in the office, and there may begreat reasons to do that, but
be flexible, I mean.
I feel like we have moved as asociety, as a workforce in
America, beyond rigid work hours, and so the more flexibility,

(06:01):
the better Happy workers I'llmake for productive workers and
happy environment and successfulcompanies.
I do believe that very truly.
So the bottom line is hybridcreep.
It may signal a slow windingdown of flexible work, at least
some companies, but time willtell how that plays out.
Look, rto is definitely on theupswing for now, but for now

(06:24):
we'll see what happens when theworkers are back in control.
And before we go today, here'syour fun fact.
As always, studies show thebest temperatures for office
productivity is about 77 degreesFahrenheit.
If it's too cold, people makemore mistakes.
Okay, that study was not givento me or for me, because I would

(06:45):
be sweating and miserable anduncomfortable at 77 degrees,
couldn't do it.
No way has to be colder thanthat.
So maybe I'm making errors thatI'm unaware of, but so be it.
That's a tradeoff that I'mwilling to live with.
So thank you for listeningtoday.
Please like, share, subscribethis video and any feedback you
have.
I'd love to hear it.
But yeah, thanks for listening,I'll talk.