- __[NFTs](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/5HtwscQfcOrULa2oxOGp86/articles/36E5lFAKkacaWtELf3d5qX/):__ From Simone Biles to Shawn Mendes, sports stars and celebs are embracing non-fungible tokens to unlock the next opportunity in the fan economy. 
- __[Ida](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4V221H51NGTebnJfxGViJU/articles/3MYdkqm3q0EmiHfYmE5WYS/):__ Hurricane Ida is impacting consumers and businesses across industries, from oil and gas to insurance. 
- __[Drive](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4V221H51NGTebnJfxGViJU/articles/1jaX5bVRMCbnFFhVLS2ZSg/):__  __Apple__ is continuing its wallet takeover with a virtual driver’s license — and digital keys are next.

ICYMI

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Tom Jones

__Check the math again…__  August job numbers were as disappointing as a Fyre Festival [sandwich](https://www.flipkick.io/nfts/fyre-festival-cheese-sandwich). The US economy added only 235K jobs, the lowest gain since January — economists were expecting 720K new hires. The unemployment rate dipped to 5.2% from 5.4% in July — still higher than pre-pandemic.

- __The labor force participation rate__ — aka: the percentage of 16+ year olds that are working or actively looking for work — stayed at 61.7%, well below 63.3% pre-pandemic.
- __It’s not that there aren’t enough jobs.__ There are record high [~10M](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/09/04/ten-million-job-openings-labor-shortage/?utm_source=pocket_discover) US job openings. Still, 8.4M Americans are unemployed. A few reasons why workers aren't returning...

__1. Covid fears__ are keeping workers home as Delta surges, especially in customer-facing jobs. Leisure and hospitality jobs (think: waiters), which have been the primary driver of job growth this year, actually *lost* workers last month.

__2. Childcare needs:__ Delta uncertainty has forced dozens of US school districts to postpone their return to IRL classrooms. That could slow job growth among parents — especially women, who’ve [shouldered](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4FiPxYkU4FGEKs36P1LNJJ/articles/4kp1BqJkQIJqk2dJ3iMTuU/) a larger share of pandemic childcare duties.

__3. Boosted unemployment benefits:__ The extra $300/week in enhanced unemployment benefits are set to expire nationwide this week. Half of US states already cut off boosted payments earlier this summer. And they've [seen](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wsj.com/articles/states-that-cut-unemployment-benefits-saw-limited-impact-on-job-growth-11630488601?mod%3Darticle_inline&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1630799320111000&usg=AOvVaw2fEC-n3liopuRWhB5E-OkY) about the same job growth as states that didn't. It's still too early to know how the nationwide cut-off will affect job growth.

__4. Favorable labor market:__ Jobs are plentiful, and wages are rising faster-than-expected as companies from __[CVS](https://robinhood.com/stocks/CVS)__ to __[Walmart](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WMT)__ hike pay and benefits to attract workers. People are becoming choosier about jobs they take, which can mean sitting out longer. 


_Taking the jobs report out of the oven like [Alan Thornton/The Image Bank via GettyImages]_

Labor

__It's the Delta jobs report...__ In August, the number of people who said they couldn't work for a pandemic-related reason jumped by a whopping 400K, for a total of 5.6M. The US is seeing ~150K new Covid cases/day as the Delta variant spreads. It’s raising concerns that economic recovery could stall. The August jobs report could also cloud policy for the Fed, which is [weighing](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4gMiOgVApFMLOTW9UsICpO/articles/5QNJY6U0q9a5UKIr2wDLB3/) when to reign in its economy-boosting policy.

The bummer August jobs report: from expiring unemployment $$, to Delta’s dent

__International lawyers on speed-dial…__ Data privacy and antitrust troubles are piling up globally for tech giants. __[Facebook](https://robinhood.com/stocks/FB)__-owned WhatsApp was fined $270M for privacy violations last week as part of Europe’s GDPR crackdown. Meanwhile: South Korea [passed](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/2OkX8F6GVFrw8mk8X5esRE/articles/34EZJfcpcU7H6UK6Y8of8q/) the first law in the world that dents __[Google](https://robinhood.com/stocks/GOOGL)__ and __[Apple's](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AAPL)__ app store payments dominance, setting a precedent other countries could follow. 

__Corporate thirst…__ Extreme climate events — like CA’s wildfires and Hurricane Ida — are diminishing global water supply by contaminating reservoirs. The number of people with limited water is expected to more than double by 2025 to 1.8B. Now, companies that use water for everything from making cookies to cooling data centers are making moves: __[Procter & Gamble](https://robinhood.com/stocks/PG)__ is donating money to protect water supplies, and __[Nestlé](https://robinhood.com/stocks/NSRGY)__ plans to conserve more water than it uses by 2025.

Zoom Out

Stories we're watching...

__Love the pleather skirt...__ *Don't* love the $300 price tag. The “buy now, pay later” biz is [booming](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/1TtUXZyHvZ2SETOZOaUYq7/articles/2wpby5ZPzAfks9OlK1Syl/), as younger shoppers skip credit cards. BNPL giant __Klarna__ hit a $46B valuation in June, and __[Square](https://robinhood.com/stocks/SQ)__ bought __Afterpay__ last month for a whopping $29B. Now, BNPL company __[Affirm](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AFRM)__ is partnering with __[Amazon](https://robinhood.com/stocks/AMZN)__ to allow 'Zon shoppers to pay in installments. We’ll see if BNPL’s growth — which took off when money was tight last year — is still strong when Affirm reports earnings on Thursday. 

__Labor Day BBQ vibes...__ On the grill: earnings reports.  Rival grill-makers __[Traeger](https://robinhood.com/stocks/COOK)__ and __[Weber](https://robinhood.com/stocks/WEBR)__ went public this summer as the pandemic fueled outdoor activities, including a [BBQ boom](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/6MmYKB2qyTGOmgSv4zyTxs/articles/78GJOjGxAAxgrjDmtdC6Rg/). One in four grills on Earth are Weber's, but Traeger’s sales have been growing faster. Shares of both grill giants are up 20%+ since listing. We’ll see if sales are still sizzling when Traeger serves up earnings on Thursday.

Events

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🥤 The job situation, feat. expiring unemployment $$

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