This morning, new jobs data showed that the U.S. economy lost 23,000 jobs in July and paycheck growth plummeted, with inflation now outpacing wages year-over-year and the labor participation rate hitting a five-year low. The truth is, while Trump and his family get rich off the presidency, working families are the ones covering the cost of his failed economic agenda. Job losses and a stalling labor market show real cracks forming under the weight of his tariffs and endless war spending. The reviews couldn’t be clearer: only 32% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of the economy. Every month the economy stumbles, Americans lose paychecks, savings, and stability. Read more about what experts are saying about the latest dismal jobs report:
WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING
- Heather Long, Chief Economist at Navy Federal Credit Union: “Inflation is totally wiping out wage gains. The financial squeeze is real for many Americans right now.”
- Justin Wolfers, Economics Professor at the University of Michigan: “July’s new number is downright concerning.”
- Heather Long, Chief Economist at Navy Federal Credit Union: “This is a bleak jobs report. The U.S. labor market is stalling again and that is going to make the Federal Reserve’s job harder and life for job seekers rough. The big surprise was job losses in July. But that was only the beginning of the bad news. The unemployment rate fell for the wrong reasons. People continue to leave the labor force. Labor force participation is at the lowest level since February 2021. Even worse is that wage growth cooled to a mere 3.2%, the lowest level in five years. This is not what workers need as inflation soars again.”
- Jon Cooper, Political Commentator: “Today’s jobs report was a gut punch: the US economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, far worse than expected. Meanwhile, wages still aren’t keeping up with inflation, and soaring grocery prices continue to squeeze American families. Affordability remains the defining economic challenge.”
- Dean Baker, Senior Economist at the Center for Economic & Policy Research: “Nominal wage growth slows further to 3.2%, workers are falling behind inflation.”
- Justin Wolfers, Economics Professor at the University of Michigan: “Here’s why this is so grim. Folks expected jobs growth to slow to +80k, but we got -23k. Also downward revisions to the last two months subtracted a total of -103k. So over the past three months, the US economy created about -200k fewer jobs than we had thought.”
- Elizabeth Pancotti, Vice President of Policy, Advocacy, and Research at Groundwork Collaborative: “As the job market ticks into the red, workers with jobs are clinging to their paychecks. Real wages are slipping as prices continue to rise with no relief in sight.”
- David Rosenberg, Economist, Founder & President of Rosenberg Research: “The macro bulls are doing their best to paint lipstick on this pig of an employment report, with both the payroll and household surveys showing contraction…Wage growth nearly flatlined last month to boot, and the YoY trend has melted to a five-year low…”
HEADLINES
- Forbes: Payroll Growth Stalls As Labor Force Declines
- CBS News: Americans got their biggest raises in 40 years. Inflation took most of it.
- The National News Desk: Economy sheds 23K jobs in July, wage gains soften as report shows ‘weakness in payrolls’
- Axios: U.S. workers’ share of national income falls to a new low
- Quartz: U.S. payrolls fell by 23,000 in July, the first decline in months
- AP News: US job market stalled in July as employers cut 23,000 jobs, delivering political setback to Trump
- Politico: US employers unexpectedly shed jobs, clashing with Trump’s economic message
- NewsNation: US economy unexpectedly loses 23K jobs amid Iran war
- Center for Economic & Policy Research: Economy Loses 23,100 Jobs in July as Wage Growth Slows Further
- NPR: Employers unexpectedly cut 23,000 jobs in a sign of a wilting labor market
- NBC News: Job losses in July and negative revisions reveal a weakening U.S. labor market
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