Employment options that could be featured in Dirty Jobs are seeing a surge in applications amid a hiring slowdown. Bloomberg reported yesterday that job seekers are jostling for what are typically high-turnover roles that require physical and mental toughness, while not always paying well.

For example:

• Applications to the Georgia Department of Corrections were up 40% in the last three months compared to the same period last year.
• The US military met its recruiting goals ahead of schedule this summer, after previously struggling to attract enlistees. Analysts say the recruitment rebound might be due to fewer alternative work options and pay raises.
• Waste management recruiting firm HireQuest said that i​​its unit that staffs recycling and garbage facilities experienced a 50% surge in applications over the past two years, which the company attributes to higher interest and fewer vacancies.

It happens when cubicle gigs are scarce

Unlike people rewatching Sex and the City, the increased allure of unglamorous work can actually indicate economic challenges. While the economy was projected to grow at a solid clip of 3.9% in Q3, layoffs have accelerated and hiring has slowed for office workers—prompting economist to argue over how much AI is to blame.

While private sector hiring recovered slightly last month, per data from payroll firm ADP, most onboarding occurred in non-office sectors like healthcare and construction.

And the road ahead looks bumpy for people early in their careers, as employers are favoring workers with a few years of experience. Companies are more pessimistic about the upcoming spring college grad hiring season than they have been since the pandemic, according to a recent National Association of Colleges and Employers survey.

Looking ahead...there’ll be a wider-angle snapshot of the recent state of the job market available when the reopened government releases September jobs data on Thursday, after it was delayed due to the shutdown. But we’ll have to wait until next month for more current hiring stats.—SK

Saudi crown prince to visit the White House today. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be in DC today for his first trip to the US since the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. MBS and President Trump are expected to discuss deepening ties on commerce, AI, and possibly nuclear energy. Trump is hoping to move forward with the $600 billion investment pledge Saudi Arabia made when he was there in May, while MBS is looking for security guarantees. In advance of the visit, Trump announced yesterday that the US would sell stealthy F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia. But the Wall Street Journal points out that with oil prices down and big commitments to domestic projects, MBS may have less money to spend on “checkbook diplomacy.” Still, many CEOs are expected at the dinner honoring him tonight.

Sinclair buys stake in Scripps, hoping for local TV consolidation. The two broadcast station owners don’t have a merger deal yet, but Sinclair, which owns 178 affiliate stations, revealed in a regulatory filing yesterday that they’ve had “constructive” talks and that it has taken an 8% stake in Scripps, which owns ~60 stations. Investors like the idea: Scripps stock soared 40%. The effort to purchase Scripps comes after Sinclair began a strategic review to consider potential sales and acquisitions. Its push to get even bigger also follows the company pressing the FCC to relax rules that ban a broadcaster from owning stations that reach more than 39% of the country—and FCC Chair Brendan Carr has said he agrees.

Trump says he would sign the bill to release Epstein files if it passes. With the House poised to vote on a bill to force the Justice Department to release its files on the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein this week, President Trump told reporters yesterday he’d sign it, though he also said, “The whole thing is a hoax.” The president had opposed such a release for months and had urged lawmakers to reject the bill, but on Sunday, he abruptly shifted his position, saying on Truth Social that Republicans should support it. Trump’s change of heart led more Republicans to publicly support the bipartisan measure yesterday, according to Politico. Meanwhile, former Treasury Secretary and former Harvard President Larry Summers is stepping back from his public commitments after his emails with Epstein were made public.—AR

Four years after stepping down as CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos is ready to lead another company. Well, at least co-lead—the New York Times reported yesterday that Bezos is the co-founder and co-CEO of Project Prometheus, a $6.2 billion AI startup that he’s partially funding.

Bezos is sharing the leadership roles with Vik Bajaj, a physicist and chemist who worked at Google’s “Moonshot Factory,” which was known for its attempts at ambitious technological breakthroughs. Per the NYT, the extremely well-funded Project Prometheus aims to build AI models that learn in more complex ways than the LLMs that power AI chatbots:

• The company seems poised to join the competition to create world models. Such models can be taught to understand physical dimensions by getting spatial inputs or watching videos, while LLMs learn from text, which allows them to mimic human speech.
• World models can aid in the creation of technologies, like robots and video games, and can also be applied in computer science, engineering, and aerospace.

Hence, Bezos’s interest: The founder of Blue Origin, the space exploration company that turned Katy Perry into an astronaut this year, wants to pursue the tech for engineering and manufacturing.

What else is known? Much like the 2012 movie of the same name, this Prometheus has left a lot of questions unanswered. The NYT reports that the company has ~100 employees, but the publication could not determine when it was founded or where it is based. But like any good startup, it has a LinkedIn page.—DL

Gen Z would love to eat dinner right next to you: In the name of human connection, young adults embraced the divisive trend of communal dining this year, according to Resy. Don’t be surprised if they revive hitchhiking next.

The reservation company’s recent survey of 1,000 people who eat out in the US found that:

• 90% of Gen Z diners said they like sitting at shared tables, compared to 60% of baby boomers, and probably 0% of Larry David.
• Among fans of communal dining, 63% cited the possibility of meeting new friends or crushes as a major draw.

Scoot over. Gen Z is so sick of scrolling that the so-called anxious generation is willing to risk personal space and awkward small talk to build real-life community. For many, a forced group setting likely makes socializing less intimidating than, say, asking your neighbor to grab coffee (see also: the rise of supper clubs, run clubs, and apps for IRL stranger meet-ups).

Also…communal plates are in, since it’s often less financially painful to go family style on appetizers and entrees, whether you’re splitting with loved ones or strangers (brave). More than 94% of diners—and 97% of Gen Z—surveyed by Resy said they’re likely to share food when dining out.—ML

Students at US universities this fall had a slimmer chance of being paired with a foreign roommate who brought exciting snacks to share from their home country. American institutions of higher learning enrolled 17% fewer new international students this school year, according to data released by the Institute of International Education. The group’s survey of 825 schools found:

• Overall, the total number of international students decreased by 1%, with undergraduate enrollment actually rising by 2%, but enrollment in graduate programs dropping by 12%.
• Institutions still want international students: 84% of them consider international recruitment a priority. Some 81% of schools stressed the value of their unique perspectives, while 60% noted their financial contributions, as foreign students typically pay full tuition.

The decline in international student enrollment comes after the Trump administration has tangled with universities over funding and ideological issues, and put up new barriers to studying in the US, including cracking down on student visas and increasing travel restrictions that can impact foreign students. But President Trump recently said allowing foreign students was a “good” practice that was important to schools “as a business.” And, despite the dip, the US remains the top destination globally for international students, per Bloomberg.—AR