Mitchell Hartman

Correspondent

SHORT BIO

Mitchell’s most important job at Marketplace is to explain the economy in ways that non-expert, non-business people can understand. Michell thinks of his audience as anyone who works, whether for money or not, and lives in the economy . . . which is most people.

Mitchell wants to understand, and help people understand, how the economy works, who it helps, who it hurts and why. Mitchell gets to cover what he thinks are some of the most interesting aspects of the economy: wages and inflation, consumer psychology, wealth inequality, economic theory and how it measures up to economic reality.

Mitchell was a high school newspaper nerd and a college newspaper editor. He has worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer, WXPN-FM, WBAI-FM, KPFK-FM, Pacifica Radio, the CBC, the BBC, Monitor Radio, Cairo Today Magazine, The Jordan Times, The Middletown Press, The New Haven Register, Oregon Business Magazine, the Reed College Alumni Magazine, and Marketplace (twice — 1994-2001 & 2008-present).

Mitchell has gone on strike (Newspaper Guild vs. Knight Ridder, Philadelphia, 1985) and helped organize a union (with SAG-AFTRA at Marketplace, 2021-23). Mitchell once interviewed Marcel Marceau and got him to talk.

Latest Stories (2,023)

A visit to a Chicago job fair

Jun 18, 2010
Mitchell Hartman talks to senior executive assistant Marsha Gooden as she goes on a search for new employment.

Reporter's Notebook: Meeting the Long-Term Unemployed

Jun 18, 2010
Getting back into the job market proves tough for workers in Chicago struggling against record-breaking trends in long-term unemployment.

The effects of long-term unemployment

Jun 10, 2010
Once you're out of work in this recession, you're almost out of luck. Long-term unemployment hasn't been this bad since the 1940s. Job applicants are having to look longer and beat out more competition. Employers, meanwhile, have found ways to get things done without having to hire. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Jobs report: Why there isn't more hiring

Jun 4, 2010
The math on the May jobs numbers goes like this: 431,000 jobs were added to the economy last month. Subtract 411,000 -- they're temporary census workers. And what you have is a dispiriting 41,000 net new places to work for the month of May. Reporter Mitchell Hartman takes apart the numbers with Kai Ryssdal.

No work for some despite jobs report

May 7, 2010
There were 290,000 jobs created in April, but the unemployment rate went up two ticks to 9.9%. That's because more people entered the labor force -- nearly a million more unemployed workers hunting for jobs that are still hard to come by. Mitchell Hartman reports.

A day in the life of a census-taker

May 7, 2010
About half a million census-takers are knocking on doors to round up the last of us who haven't submitted census forms. Mitchell Hartman got an audio snapshot of one worker who balances the part-time job with her full-time gig.

A 99-week limit for jobless benefits

Apr 29, 2010
Congress has been voting to keep unemployment benefits flowing with several extensions. But there is a limit for people who've been unemployed the longest. In states with the worst unemployment figures, that limit is now 99 weeks. Mitchell Hartman reports.

More jobs will require graduate degree

Apr 29, 2010
A report out today says by the end of the decade, nearly 20 percent more jobs will require a Master's or PhD. But graduation rates are low for PhD's, and few minority students go beyond an undergraduate education. Mitchell Hartman reports.

More jobs will require graduate degree

Apr 29, 2010
A report out today says by the end of the decade, nearly 20 percent more jobs will require a Master's or PhD. But graduation rates are low for PhD's, and few minority students go beyond an undergraduate education. Mitchell Hartman reports.

A Muslim-focused entrepreneur summit

Apr 26, 2010
President Obama is hosting an "Entrepreneurship Summit" of delegates from Muslim nations. Reporter Mitchell Hartman talks with Tess Vigeland about what ideas are forming out of the grassroots affair, and the challenges Muslim entrepreneurs face.