President Donald Trump on Friday again defended his administration’s employment record, arguing in a Truth Social post that the recent rise in the unemployment rate reflects reductions in government payrolls rather than weakness in the private sector.
“100% OF OUR NEW JOBS ARE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR! I could reduce Unemployment to 2% overnight by just hiring people into the Federal Government, even though those Jobs are not necessary,” Trump wrote, adding, “I wish the Fake News would report the 4.5% correctly.”
He followed with a second message: “The only reason our Unemployment ticked up to 4.5% is because we are reducing the Government Workforce by numbers that have never been seen before,” Trump wrote.
Why It Matters
Unemployment rose to 4.6 percent in November, fueling concerns that the labor market may be cooling. The administration has faced scrutiny over job reports in recent months, particularly after notable revisions to earlier data. Those revisions were followed by Trump’s decision in August to fire the Commissioner of Labor Statistics after the July jobs report came in 73,000 jobs below expectations.
What to Know
Trump’s post came days after the Department of Labor reported that the economy lost 105,000 jobs in October and then showed only a modest rebound in November, with 64,000 jobs added. Over the same period, the unemployment rate increased from 4.4 percent in September to 4.6 percent in November.
Analysts have said the latest figures point to a labor market that is losing momentum rather than accelerating. Trump, however, has maintained that his policies are working—particularly as he continues pushing to shrink the federal workforce, a key pledge of his administration.
Some data points have offered support for the White House’s message: parts of Tuesday’s report came in ahead of expectations, and private payroll gains were described as relatively healthy. Still, downward revisions to previous months’ totals and the highest unemployment rate in four years complicated the administration’s recent assessment—issued after last month’s report—that “President Trump’s pro-growth, America First agenda is already making great progress.”
Trump has also argued that his economic approach will take time to show results. But with costs remaining high and job growth appearing to slow, some observers say the administration may face pressure to adjust course.
What People Are Saying
Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant said in a statement previously shared with Newsweek: “The report comes with a few asterisks, and we are going to need more data to get a clear picture about the overall health of the labor market. For the 2026 housing market, it is going to be a tug of war between the labor market and the mortgage market.”
Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, posted to X: “The US economy is in a hiring recession. Almost no jobs have been added since April. Wage gains are slowing. 710,000 more people are unemployed now versus November 2024.”
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC after the reading: “We dropped about 160,000 government workers—federal government—who are the people who took the buyout that, you know, we began that program in spring and gave people until the fall to step aside. And so, I think that from the private sector point of view it’s just about what we’ve been getting all year. It’s [a] solid upward trajectory.”
What’s Next
In a televised address Wednesday evening, Trump promised further improvements for workers and families and said the cost of living would decline. He has also continued to push for increased investment in U.S.-based manufacturing and technology, aiming to expand job opportunities for American workers.
