If the job market is any indication, the uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariff policies, which experts have been saying haven’t quite started affecting the economy, may have started doing just that.
U.S. employers added just 22,000 jobs last month as the labor market continued to cool around President Donald Trump’s economic policies.
The report from the Labor Department follows a July report that added 79,000 jobs, a report that so infuriated Trump that he fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, also worse than expected and the highest level since 2021, according to the Labor Department report.
Talking to reporters Thursday night, Trump had seemed to shrug off whatever hiring numbers would come out Friday, according to multiple media reports.
“The real numbers that I’m talking about are going to be whatever it is, but will be in a year from now,’’ the president said.
Factories shed 12,000 jobs last month, the fourth straight month that manufacturers have cut payrolls. Construction companies cut 7,000 jobs, and the federal government 15,000.
The Labor Department revised reports from June and July, cutting some 21,000 revisions cut 21,000 jobs off June and July payrolls. It also said employers had actually cut 13,000 jobs in June. It was the first monthly job loss since December 2020.
The Associated Press reported that the U.S. job market has lost momentum this year, partly because of interest rate hikes by Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023 and partly because Trump’s policies, including his trade wars, have created uncertainty that leaves managers reluctant to make hiring decisions.
“The labor market is showing signs of cracking,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told the AP before Friday’s report. “It’s not a red siren alarm yet, but the signs keep growing that businesses are starting to cut workers.’’
Statistics released Thursday by the Labor Department showed the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since June.
