Lydia DePillis
@lydiadepillis.bsky.social
1.3K followers 380 following 83 posts
NYT economics reporter. Just checking things out over here.
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lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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.
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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...
High-Skilled Visas Have Problems. Trump’s $100,000 Fee Won’t Fix Them.
www.nytimes.com
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
The equation of A.I. usage with "progress" seems like a big embedded assumption here
saritharai.bsky.social
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
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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...
Georgia ICE Raid Netted Workers With Short-Term Business Visas
www.nytimes.com
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
Aww thanks bud, the editors did a great job with it! Yes bikes soon!!
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
It is weird! We have been trying to find out more about his time there. But the Archdiocese confirmed he gradated with a BA.
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
We know where he got his undergrad degree -- St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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...
Mounting Deportations Meet Slow Hiring in a ‘Curious Kind of Balance’
www.nytimes.com
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
.... as the story discusses
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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...
The A.I. Spending Frenzy Is Propping Up the Real Economy, Too
www.nytimes.com
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
Joining @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social shortly to talk trade and economy and stuff. Hop on that @wnyc.org channel
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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...
Economic Data Has Taken a Dark Turn. That Doesn’t Mean a Crash Is Near.
www.nytimes.com
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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...
As Trump Pushes International Students Away, Asian Schools Scoop Them Up
www.nytimes.com
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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...
Trump’s Pick to Lead Labor Data Agency Adds to Fears of Political Interference
www.nytimes.com
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
That's interesting, I hadn't realized Customs was requiring lists of parts. Do you want to tell me more about it, Barb? [email protected]
Thanks so much!
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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...
New Tariff on ‘Transshipped’ Goods Mystifies Importers
www.nytimes.com
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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...
Countries Promise Trump to Buy U.S. Gas, and Leave the Details for Later
www.nytimes.com
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
Story with the indispensable @bhadrarukum.bsky.social and photos by Rebecca Conway.
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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...
The Country Where 76% of Cars Sold Are Electric
www.nytimes.com
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
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
lydiadepillis.bsky.social
Many of the 14 nations that received tariff letters from President Trump yesterday had tried for months to find something that would satisfy the White House.

Ultimately, none of it worked. And now it begins again.

Our story from across Asia:

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/b...
Trump’s New Trade Threats Set Off Global Scramble to Avoid Tariffs
www.nytimes.com