The U.S. economy added just 22,000 jobs in August, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report released on Friday.
The BLS report was the first one since President Donald Trump fired Biden-appointed BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after the bureau made major revisions to its May and June reports, marking down nonfarm payrolls by nearly 260,000. The August numbers were far below economists’ predictions, who expected payrolls to rise by 75,000, CNBC reported.
While Friday’s report reveals a troubling trend for the job market, it is likely to keep the Federal Reserve on track to lower interest rates at its meeting later this month. The Federal Reserve often lowers interest rates if unemployment is high in an attempt to stimulate economic activity, which can lead to companies hiring more people. Last month, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested that central bank policymakers are considering cutting rates.
Shortly after the poor jobs report was released, Trump blasted Powell on his Truth Social platform.
“Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell should have lowered rates long ago. As usual, he’s ‘Too Late!’” Trump posted.
Both the wholesale trade and manufacturing sectors saw declines of 12,000 jobs last month, while the health care sector led all others with 31,000 jobs added. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3%, matching the estimate, and annual earnings gains increased by 3.7%, which was just shy of the 3.8% expectation, according to CNBC.
Daniel Zhao, the chief economist at jobs site Glassdoor, told the outlet, “The labor market is losing lift, and August’s report, along with downward revisions, suggests we’re heading into turbulence without the soft landing achieved.”
Trump ripped McEntarfer last month, accusing the former BLS commissioner of inflating job growth “before the Election to try and boost” the chances of former Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified,” he said on August 1. “Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”
Trump nominated economist E.J. Antoni to take over the BLS. Antoni is a Heritage Foundation fellow who agrees with Trump that BLS numbers have been distorted for political reasons.
“There are better ways to collect, process, and disseminate data—that is the task for the next BLS commissioner, and only consistent delivery of accurate data in a timely manner will rebuild the trust that has been lost over the last several years,” Antoni posted on X just a few days after Trump fired McEntarfer.