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)

First-time unemployment claims down

Sep 9, 2010
First-time claims for unemployment benefits fell 27,000 from last week to 451,000 -- a two-month low. Is this a sign that the economy is recovering?

Will business tax breaks lift the economy?

Sep 7, 2010
The Obama Administration announced several proposals to stimulate the economy, including tax break extensions. Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman sees how tax breaks could influence business growth and if it'll result in job creation.

'The trillion dollar gap' in pension funds

Sep 2, 2010
Regardless of economic climate, government offices continue to pay pensions. But the Great Recession is making governments re-think future employee pensions and how to deal with the pensions they're currently doling out.

Is high unemployment here to stay?

Sep 2, 2010
Some economists are predicting an increase in unemployment over July's numbers when we get the jobs report for August. Could we be in for persistently high unemployment for the long haul? Mitchell Hartman reports.

For CEOs, it may pay to lay off

Sep 1, 2010
A report from a liberal think-tank concludes: if you're the CEO, it's a good deal to slash jobs. And the executives who laid off the most workers? They ended up with the fattest paychecks. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Low bond yields may buy spending time

Aug 31, 2010
The government is borrowing more money than ever and it's turning out to be cheaper than ever for taxpayers, too. That's because yields -- the interest that investors are paid on government bonds -- are at record lows. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Groupon can be too much of a good thing

Aug 26, 2010
Groupon, a popular discount website, is a way to get a business lots of exposure fast. But the attention can be too much to handle for small businesses.

July existing home sales lowest in 15 years

Aug 24, 2010
Home prices are way way down and mortgage rates are at record lows, but people still aren't buying. Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman reports.

Debating the future of Fannie, Freddie

Aug 20, 2010
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were on the hot seat this week, as government officials debated their future. Reporter Mitchell Hartman talks with Tess Vigeland about what Republicans and Democrats want to see happen to the mortgage giants.

The future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Aug 17, 2010
Fannie and Freddie have significantly improved their practices since the government took over the then-dysfunctional mortgage lenders two years ago. So much so, that 90 percent of mortgages now carry some sort of government insurance. Now some are calling for reeling Fannie and Freddie in.