U.S. employers added just 22,000 jobs last month as the labor market continued to cool under uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s economic policies. The Labor Department said Friday that hiring decelerated from 79,000 in July. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, the Labor Department reported.
When the department put out a disappointing jobs report a month ago, an enraged Trump responded by firing the economist in charge of compiling the numbers and nominating a loyalist to replace her.
Talking
to reporters Thursday night at a dinner with wealthy tech executives, Trump had seemed to shrug off whatever hiring numbers would come out Friday. “The real numbers that I’m talking about are going to be whatever it is, but will be in a year from now,’’ the president said.
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The Trump administration is taking its immigration crackdown to the health care safety net, launching Medicaid spending probes in at least six Democratic-led states that provide comprehensive health coverage to poor and disabled immigrants living in the U.S. without permanent legal status.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is scouring payments covering health care for immigrants without legal status to ensure there isn’t any waste, fraud or abuse, according to public records obtained by KFF Health News and The Associated Press.
While acknowledging that states can bill the federal government for Medicaid emergency and pregnancy care for immigrants without legal status, federal officials have sent letters notifying state health agencies in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington that they are reviewing federal and state payments for medical services, such as prescription drugs and specialty care.
The federal agency told the states it’s reviewing claims as part of its commitment to maintain Medicaid’s fiscal integrity.
▶ Read more about immigrants and Medicaid
That’s partly because of the lingering effects of 11 interest rate hikes by the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023 and partly because Trump’s policies, including his trade wars, have created uncertainty that leaves managers reluctant to make hiring decisions.
So far in 2025, the economy has generated 85,000 new jobs a month, down from 168,000 last year and an average 400,000 a month during the hiring boom of 2021-2023 as the United States roared back from COVID-19 lockdowns.
“The labor market is showing signs of cracking,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “It’s not a red siren alarm yet, but the signs keep growing that businesses are starting to cut workers.‘’
The Labor Department said Friday that hiring decelerated from 79,000 in July. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, the Labor Department reported.
When the department put out a disappointing jobs report a month ago, an enraged President Trump responded by firing the economist in charge of compiling the numbers and nominating a loyalist to replace her.
Talking to reporters Thursday night at a dinner with wealthy tech executives, Trump had seemed to shrug off whatever hiring numbers would come out Friday. “The real numbers that I’m talking about are going to be whatever it is, but will be in a year from now,’’ the president said.
▶ Read more about the U.S. jobs report
The president’s daughter-in-law will present an interview with the vice president on Saturday evening for her Fox News show, “My View with Lara Trump.”
Vance has served as a pitchman for the White House, traveling to swing states like Georgia and Wisconsin to promote administration policies like recent tax legislation.
He’s also expected to talk about the upcoming midterms and the next presidential election, when he’s been floated as a potential successor to Trump.
The interview airs Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.
