President Donald Trump said Thursday, just one day before the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its latest jobs report, that Americans should not expect to see the “real” strength of the labor market until next year, The Hill reported.
Speaking at a White House dinner with more than two dozen technology executives, Trump downplayed the importance of Friday’s report, which will be the first since he dismissed the head of the BLS last month following weak job numbers.
“They come out tomorrow. But the real numbers that I’m talking about are going to be whatever it is, but will be in a year from now when — They’re monstrous, huge, beautiful places, they’re palaces of genius and when they start opening up … I think you’ll see job numbers that are going to be absolutely incredible,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question.
“Right now, it’s a lot of construction numbers, but you’re gonna see job numbers like our country has never seen before.”
Critics were quick to allege that the administration is politicizing government data and undermining confidence in future releases.
The Aug. 1 jobs report showed a gain of 73,000 jobs in July — almost all in healthcare and social assistance — suggesting a slowing labor market. Unemployment held at 4.2%. Analysts expect the upcoming report on Sept. 5 to show continued weakness and possibly prompt an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
Trump fired Erika McEntarfer as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the day the report came out. He posted on Truth Social that the agency’s jobs report was “rigged in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”
Economists are expecting more labor market weakness in August, a trend that could pose political challenges for Trump as he seeks to highlight economic gains. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNN last week, “I think they’ll be as good as they can be, but they need to get a lot better.”
Trump’s remarks came during a dinner that included Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
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