Donald Trump’s promise to deliver a booming economy in his second term is running into trouble as U.S. jobs growth slows to a crawl.
The August report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed just 22,000 jobs were created, far below expectations and a major drop from earlier in the summer.
The new numbers also revised June’s data into negative territory, marking the first month of job losses since 2020.
Former BLS commissioner Erica Groshen described the situation as “pretty sobering,” noting that the three-month average of 29,000 jobs is “basically zero for an economy of the size that we have.”
She warned that the economy is now “flashing yellow.”
The slowdown has been sharpest in blue-collar industries that Trump vowed to revive. Manufacturing, construction, energy, and mining together lost 25,000 jobs in August, while wholesale trade shed 12,000 positions.
Analysts say companies are holding back on hiring due to policy uncertainty, particularly tariffs and immigration crackdowns.
Political Fallout
Democrats seized on the data to attack Trump’s policies.
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) said, “Costs keep going up. Manufacturing here in the U.S. is contracting. Businesses don’t know whether to invest or hire because there’s so much uncertainty in the economy. This is a direct result of the president’s reckless tariffs and the uncertainty that he has created.”
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) went further, calling on Trump to fire Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “before they drag the economy into a recession.”
The president has brushed off the weak figures, insisting the economy remains strong and blaming high interest rates.
“So many different elements aren’t included yet,” Trump said in the Oval Office, arguing the data will be corrected.
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, called the report an “anomaly” and predicted revisions would show stronger results.
Concerns Over Data Integrity
The jobs slump comes at a tense moment for the BLS itself. After last month’s disappointing report, Trump fired the agency’s commissioner, accusing the agency of bias, and nominated EJ Antoni, an economist from the Heritage Foundation who has criticized the bureau.
While Antoni has not yet been confirmed, his selection raised fears of politicisation.
Groshen, who led the BLS from 2013 to 2017, said the bureau’s surveys are structured to prevent political meddling.
“Our goal is to get the numbers out there as objectively as possible,” she said, explaining that commissioners cannot alter figures, only approve the accompanying narrative.
Still, she warned that if political interference undermines trust, “you get a cascade of really bad results,” from poor policymaking to reduced survey participation and weaker data quality.
Myles McCormick, U.S. economics correspondent for the Financial Times, noted there was no sign of tampering in the latest report.
“If the administration was meddling in the numbers, I don’t think they’d put out the report that they’ve put out today, which again is a pretty bleak picture,” he said.
Looking Ahead
Trump is pushing the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, a move that could gain momentum as the labor market weakens.
Yet inflation remains above the Fed’s 2 percent target, complicating the picture. Polls show 54.1 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, while only 42.2 percent approve.
With the 2026 midterm elections approaching, the state of the economy is set to play a central role.
As Lanhee Chen of Stanford University put it, “The ability of Republicans to retain control of the House and Senate is going to depend in no small part on his ability to tell a positive economic story.”
IMAGE CREDIT: ”Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image adjusted for layout.