Trump cheers US jobs data
● America’s jobless rate tumbled in September to its lowest level in 50 years, according to government data released on Friday, delighting the White House even though it may not assuage recession fears as President Donald Trump’s trade wars persist.
Trump immediately cheered the good jobs data, claiming his economic record should shield him from efforts to impeach him, and shortly after said a trade deal with China was possible soon.
“Breaking News: Unemployment Rate, at 3.5%, drops to a 50 YEAR LOW. Wow America, lets impeach your President (even though he did nothing wrong!),” Trump tweeted.
But there was less than stellar news as well: the pace of job creation was the slowest in four months and wages fell, while the manufacturing workforce also shrank for the second time this year.
Unemployment fell two-tenths of a point to 3.5%, matching the rate last recorded in December 1969, and well below what analysts had forecast, according to the US department of labour.
Employers added a total of 136,000 net new positions, which was below expectations. But signs of the slowdown were unambiguous: at 157,000, the average for the past three months is now well below the 223,000 a month recorded during 2018.
The hotly-anticipated jobs report also landed amid a raft of worrisome economic data showing Trump’s trade wars have dented the business environment and suggesting hiring should slow in the coming months.
“Job growth is set to slow much further,” Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics said in a note to clients.
“This is as good as it’s likely to get until the trade war is resolved.”
The latest data did not reflect the nationwide strike launched last month by General Motors employees, who walked off the job the week after the survey for the September jobs report was conducted.
In a separate report also released on Friday, the commerce department said the yawning US trade deficit rose by nearly $1bn (R15bn) in August as weakening foreign demand and the churning trade conflict ate into US export growth.
However, Trump said there is a “very good chance” to reach a trade deal with China soon. “Right now we’re in a very important stage in terms of possibly making a deal. If we make it, it will be the biggest trade deal ever made,” he said.