slowdown

Sept. 5 (UPI) — The job market continues to slow, according to a report released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that only 22,000 jobs were created in August.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 22,000, which is well below the Dow Jones expectation of 75,000. The July increase was 79,000 and was revised up by 6,000. June saw a net loss of 13,000 after the estimate was dropped by 27,000.

Friday’s BLS report is lower than Thursday’s ADP Employment Report for August, which showed a private payroll gain of 54,000.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement that Americans are “benefiting from strong and consistent hourly wage growth, which is up nearly 4%. The price of goods has increased globally over the past year, but the U.S. is bucking that trend with lower inflation, thanks to the return of America First leadership.”

She also touted the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.

“Additionally, second-quarter GDP smashed many economists’ expectations, demonstrating strong growth and resilience. All job growth this year has been in the private sector among native-born Americans,” she said.

The GDP, which is a measure of all goods and services produced in the American economy, rose to an annualized rate of 3.3% from April to June instead of its earlier estimate of 3%, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said. It had declined by 0.5% in the first quarter.

The July report was slower than expected and heavily revised, leading to the firing of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. This is the first report to come out since her ouster. The July report showed 73,000 new jobs, which is less than half of the initially reported 147,000 jobs created in June.

“Today’s jobs numbers were rigged in order to make Republicans and me look bad,” President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Aug. 1.

He said the BLS likewise produced a false jobs report in the days leading up to the Nov. 5 general election that were favorable to the Biden administration.

Friday’s report showed that the unemployment rate, at 4.3%, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.4 million, changed little in August.

Health care added 31,000 jobs, below the average monthly gain of 42,000 over the previous 12 months. Employment continued to trend up over the month in ambulatory health care services, a gain of 13,000; nursing and residential care facilities, up 9,000; and hospitals, up 9,000.

On Thursday, Trump told reporters that the “real” jobs numbers will come out a year from now. He hosted more than two dozen tech executives at the White House for dinner.

He said that when “huge, beautiful places, the palaces of genius” open, job numbers will improve. He didn’t say what those places will be.

“When they start opening up … I think you’ll see job numbers that are going to be absolutely incredible,” Trump said. “Right now, it’s a lot of construction numbers, but you’re gonna see job numbers like our country has never seen.”

Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor, told CNBC that the outlook is rough.

“The job market is stalling short of the runway,” he said. “The labor market is losing lift, and August’s report, along with downward revisions, suggests we’re heading into turbulence without the soft landing achieved.”

Factory activity in the Eurozone expanded for the first time since mid-2022 due to domestic demand offseting the impact of U.S. tariffs.

However, mixed signals were reported over the Chinese economy, with one survey suggesting modest expansion, contradicting an official readout that showed activity continuing to shrink. Export powerhouses Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan all saw manufacturing activity shrink in August, underscoring the challenge Asia faces in weathering the hit from sharply higher trade barriers erected by U.S. President Donald Trump.

In Europe, Greece and Spain led factory growth, while manufacturing in Germany shrank at a slower pace. The HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to an over-three-year high of 50.7 in August from 49.8 in July.

However, the recovery is still fragile, with inventory levels continuing to decline and order backlogs dropping. Manufacturing in Germany rose to a 38-month high of 49.8, offering hope for the economy that shrank 0.3% last quarter on slowing demand from its top trading partner the U.S.

The EU and the U.S. struck a framework trade deal in late July, but only the baseline tariff of 15% has so far been implemented.

ASIA

The S&P Global Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) and South Korea’s factory activity have both fallen for the seventh consecutive month due to higher US tariffs and competition from cheap Chinese exports.

Both countries have struck trade deals with the US, which have eased pressure on their export-reliant economies. This has led to a double-whammy for Asian economies, as they face higher tariffs and competition from cheap Chinese exports.

The RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI unexpectedly rose to 50.5 in August, exceeding the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction. This contradicts an official survey that showed activity shrank for a fifth straight month due to weak domestic demand and uncertainty over Beijing’s trade deal with the US.

Trump extended his tariff truce with China for another 90 days, withholding imposition of three-digit duties until November 10. India, which grew at a much better-than-expected 7.8% in the last quarter, continues to be a significant outlier in the region, with manufacturing activity expanding at its fastest pace in over 17 years.

With information from Reuters

Three Democratic U.S. representatives for California visited the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Friday to voice their concerns after President Trump told reporters that the slowdown of activity at the ports was “a good thing.”

Trump has argued that tariffs are needed to boost manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and that the slowdown in port activity “means we lose less money.”

But steep duties on imports from key trade partners have resulted in fewer cargo containers moving through the two ports, which are the busiest in the nation.

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) tours the Port of LA post-tariffs as normally bustling berths sit empty behind him on May 9, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. “Unfortunately, Trump engaged in a trade war without understanding the repercussions of his actions,” Gomez said. “This is going to cost them a lot.”

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

With a 145% tariff on China, a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico, and 10% tariffs on dozens of other countries, the flow of goods into the U.S. is expected to slow drastically.

The drop off in activity means fewer jobs for longshoremen and truckers, and down the line, higher prices for consumers, the representatives said.

“Unfortunately, Trump engaged in a trade war without understanding the repercussions of his actions,” U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) told The Times. “This is going to cost them a lot.”

Gomez, who toured the port of Los Angeles via boat Friday, where towering cranes loaded cargo onto waiting ships, said in an interview that port workers and small business owners would be hit hardest by the tariffs.

The scene was less bustling than usual, port officials said. Seventeen ships have already canceled their planned trips to the Port of Los Angeles in May, port officials said, an occurrence known as a “blank sailing” that means less cargo being processed.

Cargo containers are stacked near the shore as normally bustling berths sit empty as Trump’s tariff’s are plunging volume as much as 35% as ships from China cancel their trips to the Port of Los Angeles on May 9, 2025 in Los Angeles.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka predicted in late April that activity at the ports would plunge by 35% over the next 14 days. The 17 confirmed blank sailings in May alone are equivalent to 225,000 fewer 20-foot equivalent units of cargo, or TEUs.

Roughly four TEUs represent one job at the port, according to Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-San Pedro). The ripple effects of the tariffs could result in significant job loss, she said, which could harm the communities of Long Beach and San Pedro, which she represents.

“It was really concerning to hear the president, when he was asked about the slowdown, say it was a good thing,” Barragan said. “It’s insulting to people at the ports and American families who are going to start to see prices going up.”

The Port of Los Angeles, which covers 7,500 acres on San Pedro Bay, processed more than 10 million TEUs in 2024. A 2023 report found that the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach contributed $21.8 billion in direct revenue to local service providers, generating $2.7 billion in state and local taxes and creating 165,462 jobs, directly and indirectly.

A decline of just 1% in cargo to the ports would wipe away 2,769 jobs and endanger as many as 4,000 others, the study found.

Normally bustling berths sit empty as Trump’s tariff’s are plunging volume as much as 35% as ships from China cancel their trips to the Port of Los Angeles on May 9, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A spike of activity at the ports preceded the drop-off as importers front-loaded goods before the tariffs took effect. While large corporations such as Amazon and Walmart had this option, smaller businesses likely did not, Gomez said.

“The mom and pop stores, the medium size and small folks, they don’t have warehouses where they can just store stuff,” Gomez said. “I don’t want them to go through unnecessary pain.”

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) also visited the twin ports on Friday.

“The reality is that no communities are going to be impacted by these tariffs more than Long Beach, San Pedro and south Los Angeles,” Garcia said. “The dockworkers and warehouse workers, they are the fabric of the harbor.”