GOING DOWN

Trump Hit by Brutal Economic Bombshell as Election Looms

The number of jobs added in September was well below expectations.

The September jobs report released on Friday delivered an ugly blow to President Donald Trump with just a month to go before Election Day.

The U.S. economy added just 29,000 jobs last month, less than a third of the 90,000 jobs that economists had expected.

The number of jobs added in July and August were revised down by 60,000 jobs. The U.S. actually lost 10,000 jobs in July, with the number revised down by 31,000. The August number was also revised down by 29,000 jobs to 133,000 jobs added.

Last month, the U.S. unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent in August. Economists had expected that number to remain steady at 4.1 percent.

It came the day after Trump was bragging to reporters about the U.S. having the best numbers. It is the last jobs report to be released before the midterms.

At the same time, Americans’ wage increases have slowed and are being completely wiped out by inflation. Annual wage increases hit a five-year low, the latest report showed.

Last month, hourly wages ticked up just 0.1 percent to $37.81 while inflation from the most recent report, for August, was up 0.4 percent. Over the past 12 months, hourly earnings have increased 3 percent, but year-over-year inflation is up 3.4 percent.

On Thursday, Trump bragged to reporters that the U.S. had inflation totally under control despite his war and tariff policies driving up prices for Americans.

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Meanwhile, job growth has continued to weaken since the president took office. The average number of monthly jobs added over the prior 12 months was 45,000. The U.S. economy had been adding more than 120,000 jobs per month on average in 2024, the final year of Joe Biden’s presidency.

Last month, the U.S. added 17,000 jobs in health care, but it was a slower pace than the previous monthly average of 33,000 for the past 12 months.

The U.S. also gained 11,000 construction jobs, a slight uptick from the previous 12-month average, but below the 2024 monthly average. The U.S. also added 9,000 manufacturing jobs in September. However, the economy lost 7,000 jobs in the financial industry.

“Today’s disappointing report shows the labor market is grinding to a halt, marked by slow hiring and declining real wages that leave workers with very little leverage,” said Kyle Moore, chief economist at The Century Foundation.

While the president was posting from his Truth Social account Friday morning, he did not immediately address the September jobs report.

Asked for comment by the Daily Beast on the report, the White House touted the manufacturing and construction job increases.

“More than one million private-sector jobs have now been created under President Trump. In September, the private sector added jobs, and labor participation rose, while President Trump has shrunk the federal bureaucracy to the lowest levels since the 1960s,” claimed spokesperson Taylor Rogers.

She touted wages were up without acknowledging earnings were trailing inflation. While the White House boasted that core inflation is down, Americans’ wallets have been largely hit by higher gas and diesel prices due to Trump’s ongoing war.

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Sarah Ewall-WicePolitical Reporter

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