Washington: The latest employment report in the United States is bad news for a president whose agenda revolves around returning America to a “golden age”, driven largely by a resurgence in manufacturing.
It shows jobs growth continues to stagnate, with just 22,000 positions created in August – while job losses in manufacturing were 12,000 for the month, and 78,000 for the year to date.
Manufacturing job losses totalled 78,000 for the year so far, despite the Trump administration’s bid to restore US factories.Credit: Bloomberg
Last time Donald Trump received a weaker than expected jobs report from the Bureau of Labour Statistics – a month ago – he ordered the sacking of the agency’s commissioner, economist Erika McEntarfer.
This time, there’s no figurehead to blame. Trump’s pick to replace McEntarfer is yet to be confirmed by the US Senate.
The bureau found total non-farm payrolls, a widely watched indicator of US economic health, rose just 22,000 in August “and has shown little change since April”. Job gains in the healthcare sector were partially offset by losses in the federal government and in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, it said.
The August report also made further revisions to earlier months’ data, finding that in June, the US economy actually lost 13,000 jobs, rather than gaining 14,000 (a number which had already been revised down from 147,000). The July jobs growth figure was revised upward slightly to 79,000.
The jobs report was the first since Donald Trump sensationally sacked the head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics for announcing weak data.Credit: Bloomberg
Kevin Hassett, the director of Trump’s National Security Council, told CNBC that while the figures were “a little bit disappointing”, he expected them to be revised up later.
That’s entirely possible. Survey completion rates have fallen markedly since the pandemic, making it difficult for the bureau to provide accurate data in a timely, monthly fashion. That was true when McEntarfer was sacked for revising figures down, and it’s true today.
