San José, CA – On Friday, August 1, the Department of Labor released its jobs report for the month of July. The report caused strong reactions, including disappointment, shock and anger.

The disappointment was caused by the report that the economy only created 73,000 net new jobs in July. This was a much lower number than expected by economists and meant that the economy created the fewest jobs over the past year since March of 2021, when the economy was just starting to shake off a recession. There was also disappointment that the unemployment rate for African Americans and for Asian Americans increased by 0.4%, or four times as much as the unemployment rate for white Americans.

Many were also shocked by the very large downward revision in new job creation in May and June. While the original reports said that 144,000 and 147,000 net new jobs were created, the revisions brought the numbers down to only 19,000 in May and 14,000 in June. This raises the possibility a similar revision would that the economy actually lost jobs in July, which is a traditional way to mark the start of a recession in the United States.

Last but not least, President Trump was angry about the report. He claimed that he would bring prices down, but in fact they have been rising at a faster rate. Trump also said that his tax cuts and tariffs would grow manufacturing, but now the economy has shed manufacturing jobs for three months in a row. So, he shot the messenger by firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which prepares the monthly report. This will cause even more doubt about whether the statistics in the future reflect the best estimate of reality or what best serves the interests of President Trump.

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