The February jobs report is showing the impact of the beginning of President Donald Trump's economy, and many aren't surprised to see the turn.
Washington Post economics columnist Heather Long pointed out that people should remember that the report only shows the numbers through Feb. 15, and most of the federal government firings began after that date. According to the current report, only 10,000 federal employees had been laid off by the 15th, and that number has grown exponentially since then.
Political strategist Chris D. Jackson called that "brutal" detail the "kicker."
"Next month’s report will be a bloodbath," he predicted.
ALSO READ: Trump ally insists Americans love job losses: 'Exactly what they elected him to do'
"One worrying sign in February jobs report," Long continued, "people working part-time for 'economic reasons' (meaning they could not find a full-time job) jumped by +460,000 to 4.9 million. This metric can be an early warning sign. It's currently at the highest level since May 2021."
This prompted Yahoo Finance reporter Jordan Weissmann to explain, "Jobs report basically fine at 151,000k. Includes a loss of 10,000 federal workers. From a monetary policy perspective, [it] doesn't change much for the Fed. From a political perspective, if things deteriorate in March and April, [it] makes it harder for Trump to pin blame on [former President Joe] Biden."
"The guy who bankrupted six companies is now tanking the American economy. Who could’ve seen this coming?" asked the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project.
Fox News host Maria Bartiromo tried to spin the weaker jobs report by saying, "The jobs picture is weakening. Weaker than expected jobs again in the month of February tells you that the Fed is gonna cut rates!"
History Professor Allan Lichtman took into account the job losses and job gains, which shows a net gain of just 77,000. "Compared to an average of 185,000 per month during the last year of Biden," he added.
"Our economic growth has slowed to a crawl and will soon go in reverse thanks to Trump’s failed leadership," Aggressive Progressive show host Chris Hahn said.
Tahra Jirari, the director of economic analysis for the Chamber of Progress, commented, "Unemployment rose to 4.1%, wage growth slowed to 4%, and labor force participation dipped to 62.4%. Signs of a cooling labor market add to questions about the economy’s trajectory."
