Lydia DePillis
@lydiadepillis.bsky.social
NYT economics reporter. Just checking things out over here.
Pinned
Lydia DePillis
@lydiadepillis.bsky.social
· Jan 22
Thing that was always true but especially now: If you're someone with visibility into Trump administration economic policy changes and want to tell a reporter without jeopardizing your job, my Signal number is 202-913-3717.
Did some videosplaining of the jobs situation that we learned about yesterday: www.nytimes.com/video/busine...
Video: What the Jobs Report Tells Us About the Economy
What does the September jobs report, delayed by six weeks because of the government shutdown, say about the economy? Lydia DePillis, our economics reporter, describes how the report, which was better ...
www.nytimes.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Did some videosplaining of the jobs situation that we learned about yesterday: www.nytimes.com/video/busine...
Our final pass on today's jobs report, the first since early September and the last until mid-December. In a twist, job growth is healthy but unemployment is rising: www.nytimes.com/live/2025/bu...
Hiring Increased in September, but So Did the Unemployment Rate
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Our final pass on today's jobs report, the first since early September and the last until mid-December. In a twist, job growth is healthy but unemployment is rising: www.nytimes.com/live/2025/bu...
Since the pandemic, private equity firms have been aggressively rolling up home remodeling and roofing companies. A couple of weeks ago, one of the largest platforms abruptly collapsed. I found out what happened, and explain what it means: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/b...
How Private Equity’s Vision for a Roofing Conglomerate Went Bust
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Since the pandemic, private equity firms have been aggressively rolling up home remodeling and roofing companies. A couple of weeks ago, one of the largest platforms abruptly collapsed. I found out what happened, and explain what it means: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/b...
Today from me: Come for the cat picture, stay for the exploration of how specialty grocery stores serving immigrant diasporas are seeing the most concentrated impact from super-high tariffs on places like Myanmar and Bangladesh. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/b...
Where the Taste of Home Comes With a Tariff Charge
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Today from me: Come for the cat picture, stay for the exploration of how specialty grocery stores serving immigrant diasporas are seeing the most concentrated impact from super-high tariffs on places like Myanmar and Bangladesh. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/b...
For an effective tariff rate that's now at about 9%, pass through to consumer prices has been somewhat muted. But if you listen to earnings calls, that's a mirage: Businesses are saying they'll have to keep raising prices to make up for the new costs.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/b...
Companies Have Shielded Buyers From Tariffs. But Not for Long.
www.nytimes.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:55 PM
For an effective tariff rate that's now at about 9%, pass through to consumer prices has been somewhat muted. But if you listen to earnings calls, that's a mirage: Businesses are saying they'll have to keep raising prices to make up for the new costs.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/b...
Usually government shutdowns just displace economic activity. This one could be different: It's broader than some we've seen in the past, it could be longer, and it's hitting at the worst time of year for many farms and small businesses. From me today: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/b...
Shutdown With No Clear End Poses New Economic Threat
www.nytimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Usually government shutdowns just displace economic activity. This one could be different: It's broader than some we've seen in the past, it could be longer, and it's hitting at the worst time of year for many farms and small businesses. From me today: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/b...
Reposted by Lydia DePillis
Here is our full story that Vance is dismissing, with primary source documents showing Trump cabinet members with multiple primary-residence mortgages
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
October 12, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Here is our full story that Vance is dismissing, with primary source documents showing Trump cabinet members with multiple primary-residence mortgages
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Today from me: The unemployment rate for Black workers has leapt upward in recent months, while staying level for other demographic groups. There are some pretty strong indications of what's going on.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/b...
Black Unemployment Is Surging Again. This Time Is Different.
www.nytimes.com
October 12, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Today from me: The unemployment rate for Black workers has leapt upward in recent months, while staying level for other demographic groups. There are some pretty strong indications of what's going on.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/b...
Today from me: Everybody knew H-1B visas had problems. There were lots of ideas out there for how to fix it, and maximize the program's economic impact.
A $100,000 fee wasn't one of them.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/b...
A $100,000 fee wasn't one of them.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/b...
High-Skilled Visas Have Problems. Trump’s $100,000 Fee Won’t Fix Them.
www.nytimes.com
September 29, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Today from me: Everybody knew H-1B visas had problems. There were lots of ideas out there for how to fix it, and maximize the program's economic impact.
A $100,000 fee wasn't one of them.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/b...
A $100,000 fee wasn't one of them.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/b...
The equation of A.I. usage with "progress" seems like a big embedded assumption here
A staggering $800 billion global shortfall in AI infrastructure spend is foreseen by 2030, according to a new report by Bain, and that could hamper AI's progress
@bloomberg.com
(Gift link: free to read until Sept 30)
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
#AI
@bloomberg.com
(Gift link: free to read until Sept 30)
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
#AI
September 23, 2025 at 9:43 AM
The equation of A.I. usage with "progress" seems like a big embedded assumption here
Today with @haleaziz.bsky.social :
Most of the Korean workers detained during an ICE raid on a Ga. battery plant last week were on short-term businesses visas. In at least one case, ICE acknowledged a worker hadn't violated his visa, and forced him to deport anyway. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/b...
Most of the Korean workers detained during an ICE raid on a Ga. battery plant last week were on short-term businesses visas. In at least one case, ICE acknowledged a worker hadn't violated his visa, and forced him to deport anyway. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/b...
Georgia ICE Raid Netted Workers With Short-Term Business Visas
www.nytimes.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Today with @haleaziz.bsky.social :
Most of the Korean workers detained during an ICE raid on a Ga. battery plant last week were on short-term businesses visas. In at least one case, ICE acknowledged a worker hadn't violated his visa, and forced him to deport anyway. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/b...
Most of the Korean workers detained during an ICE raid on a Ga. battery plant last week were on short-term businesses visas. In at least one case, ICE acknowledged a worker hadn't violated his visa, and forced him to deport anyway. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/b...
In the annual poverty & income numbers for 2024, the numbers appeared calm on the surface but reveal some interesting divergences and convergences underneath: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/b...
The Poverty Rate Was Stable Last Year, as Household Income Grew Slightly
www.nytimes.com
September 9, 2025 at 8:16 PM
In the annual poverty & income numbers for 2024, the numbers appeared calm on the surface but reveal some interesting divergences and convergences underneath: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/b...
Pitched in on our coverage of the giant ICE raid on an EV battery plant in Georgia, where the Trump administration's immigration enforcement agenda is coming into conflict with its U.S. manufacturing ambitions. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/06/u...
Immigration Raid Exposes Tensions From Seoul to Washington to Rural Georgia
www.nytimes.com
September 7, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Pitched in on our coverage of the giant ICE raid on an EV battery plant in Georgia, where the Trump administration's immigration enforcement agenda is coming into conflict with its U.S. manufacturing ambitions. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/06/u...
Here's our final cut on this morning's sputtering jobs report, which shows employment not even growing fast enough to soak up the shrinking number of people entering the labor force: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/b...
Labor Market Stalled This Summer, With August Data Adding to Slowdown
www.nytimes.com
September 5, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Here's our final cut on this morning's sputtering jobs report, which shows employment not even growing fast enough to soak up the shrinking number of people entering the labor force: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/b...
Happy jobs day. As a special treat, I also have a story from Miami about the strange equilibrium we're in: As the Trump administration gradually starts reversing the flow of immigration, the unemployment rate has remained steady even as job growth slows.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/b...
Mounting Deportations Meet Slow Hiring in a ‘Curious Kind of Balance’
www.nytimes.com
September 5, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Happy jobs day. As a special treat, I also have a story from Miami about the strange equilibrium we're in: As the Trump administration gradually starts reversing the flow of immigration, the unemployment rate has remained steady even as job growth slows.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/b...
From me today: Squinting at GDP numbers, it's become clear that A.I. is propping up the economy -- not through productivity growth, but simply the sheer amount of money going into physical infrastructure needed to support all the computing power it gobbles up.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/b...
The A.I. Spending Frenzy Is Propping Up the Real Economy, Too
www.nytimes.com
August 27, 2025 at 1:33 PM
From me today: Squinting at GDP numbers, it's become clear that A.I. is propping up the economy -- not through productivity growth, but simply the sheer amount of money going into physical infrastructure needed to support all the computing power it gobbles up.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/b...
Joining @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social shortly to talk trade and economy and stuff. Hop on that @wnyc.org channel
August 26, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Joining @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social shortly to talk trade and economy and stuff. Hop on that @wnyc.org channel
Labor market and inflation data have taken a turn for the worse over the past few weeks. But this economy has taken a bunch of hits in recent years and kept on ticking, so economists aren't doomcasting yet.
Here's my effort to put it all together: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/b...
Here's my effort to put it all together: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/b...
Economic Data Has Taken a Dark Turn. That Doesn’t Mean a Crash Is Near.
www.nytimes.com
August 19, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Labor market and inflation data have taken a turn for the worse over the past few weeks. But this economy has taken a bunch of hits in recent years and kept on ticking, so economists aren't doomcasting yet.
Here's my effort to put it all together: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/b...
Here's my effort to put it all together: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/b...
One more from my stint in South Korea: At last count, some 7 million people studied abroad. As Trump pushes away international students, it appears that fewer of them will come to American schools.
But Southeast Asia is aggressively taking up the slack.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/b...
But Southeast Asia is aggressively taking up the slack.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/b...
As Trump Pushes International Students Away, Asian Schools Scoop Them Up
www.nytimes.com
August 14, 2025 at 2:34 PM
One more from my stint in South Korea: At last count, some 7 million people studied abroad. As Trump pushes away international students, it appears that fewer of them will come to American schools.
But Southeast Asia is aggressively taking up the slack.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/b...
But Southeast Asia is aggressively taking up the slack.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/b...
With @bencasselman.bsky.social and Alan Rappeport, a bit more on President Trump's pick to lead the BLS, Dr. E.J. Antoni III. The nomination has elicited strong concerns about the integrity of data that policymakers, investors, and journalists all depend on.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/b...
Trump’s Pick to Lead Labor Data Agency Adds to Fears of Political Interference
www.nytimes.com
August 12, 2025 at 9:04 PM
With @bencasselman.bsky.social and Alan Rappeport, a bit more on President Trump's pick to lead the BLS, Dr. E.J. Antoni III. The nomination has elicited strong concerns about the integrity of data that policymakers, investors, and journalists all depend on.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/b...
I dug into the transshipment provision of the big reciprocal tariffs now in effect. Trade lawyers suspected that something bigger was in the works: A new plan for charging higher rates on all third-country parts & materials.
Turns out they were right --
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/b...
Turns out they were right --
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/b...
New Tariff on ‘Transshipped’ Goods Mystifies Importers
www.nytimes.com
August 8, 2025 at 4:23 PM
I dug into the transshipment provision of the big reciprocal tariffs now in effect. Trade lawyers suspected that something bigger was in the works: A new plan for charging higher rates on all third-country parts & materials.
Turns out they were right --
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/b...
Turns out they were right --
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/b...
What's the deal with all these energy purchase commitments in Trump's trade deals? Why the U.S. is overselling and our trade partners are overbuying, with the actual expert
@rfelliott.bsky.social : www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/b...
@rfelliott.bsky.social : www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/b...
Countries Promise Trump to Buy U.S. Gas, and Leave the Details for Later
www.nytimes.com
July 31, 2025 at 9:54 AM
What's the deal with all these energy purchase commitments in Trump's trade deals? Why the U.S. is overselling and our trade partners are overbuying, with the actual expert
@rfelliott.bsky.social : www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/b...
@rfelliott.bsky.social : www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/b...
South Korea tried hard for a tariff rate lower than its chief rivals, Japan and the E.U. It failed, despite hundreds of billions of dollars in commitments for new energy purchases and investments. Details remain hazy on what market access it gave up. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/b...
South Korea Reaches Trade Deal With Trump
www.nytimes.com
July 31, 2025 at 3:27 AM
South Korea tried hard for a tariff rate lower than its chief rivals, Japan and the E.U. It failed, despite hundreds of billions of dollars in commitments for new energy purchases and investments. Details remain hazy on what market access it gave up. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/b...
I detoured from my 🇰🇷 detail to check out a 👀 situation in 🇳🇵: E.V.s are taking over the auto market. It shows what can happen when a country pulls out all the stops to leverage its energy assets and fight pollution.
With a little help from 🇨🇳.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/b...
With a little help from 🇨🇳.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/b...
The Country Where 76% of Cars Sold Are Electric
www.nytimes.com
July 28, 2025 at 8:20 PM
I detoured from my 🇰🇷 detail to check out a 👀 situation in 🇳🇵: E.V.s are taking over the auto market. It shows what can happen when a country pulls out all the stops to leverage its energy assets and fight pollution.
With a little help from 🇨🇳.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/b...
With a little help from 🇨🇳.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/b...
From me today: Countries threatened by Trump's tariff letters are still trying to talk him down. But over the medium to longer term, they're looking for ways to deal less with the U.S. altogether. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/b...
Under Attack by Trump’s Tariffs, Asian Countries Seek Out Better Friends
www.nytimes.com
July 13, 2025 at 12:17 PM
From me today: Countries threatened by Trump's tariff letters are still trying to talk him down. But over the medium to longer term, they're looking for ways to deal less with the U.S. altogether. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/b...