Surekha Carpenter and Bethany Greene discuss the connections between the health of workers and the health of labor markets in rural communities. Carpenter is a senior research analyst and Greene is a regional economist, both at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

For the 200th episode of Speaking of the Economy, four economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond share their current research and how that work connects with the Fed's mission: Nicholas Trachter on the growth in firm size, Urvi Neelakantan on the relationship between going to college and investing in the stock market, Russell Wong on the impact of AI on employment, and Horacio Sapriza on the ability of central bank communications to stabilize financial markets.

Renee Haltom shares what the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has learned from its business contacts and regional surveys about the impact of trade policy changes since last April. Haltom is a regional executive and vice president of sensing, engagement and publications at the Richmond Fed.