According to multiple U.S. media reports, during a recent event, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly responded to the fluctuations in the unemployment rate during his term and attributed the recent rise in unemployment to the reduction of government jobs.

He also emphasized that although the current employment rate is low, all new jobs created are from the private sector. Trump said that if he just wanted a good number, he could have increased employment by expanding the hiring of government civil servants.

He acknowledged the rise in unemployment at a most-favored-nation drug pricing press conference last Friday, but he emphasized that the "only reason" for the increase in unemployment was the significant reduction in government jobs.

He stressed that the scale of government job cuts has never been seen before and will continue. The president explained that the federal government has "millions of people" with jobs, but "they have never even shown up for work."

Trump further claimed that he could lower the unemployment rate to 2%, 1%, or even near zero by simply hiring some people in the federal government, even though these positions were not necessary. "We don't need ten people to fill one position," he said.

The president said, "All of our new jobs have come 100% from the private sector. This has been going on for several months... this is the right way to make America great again."

Trump also said that as new construction, artificial intelligence, and car factories continue to be built across the country, employment growth in the private sector will further improve.

Indeed, federal government layoffs have led to a slowdown in job growth. Before Trump made these remarks, there were signs of cooling in the U.S. labor market in November, with job growth barely meeting already weak expectations, and the unemployment rate rising to 4.6%, a four-year high.

As Trump emphasized, the U.S. added 64,000 nonfarm jobs in November, driven by stronger-than-expected hiring in the private sector (adding 69,000 jobs).

However, a reduction of 5,000 government jobs offset some of the growth, resulting in sluggish overall job growth. A decrease in the total number of federal employees was due to government shutdowns and large-scale layoffs carried out by Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

A slowdown in the labor market has raised concerns about an economic recession. After the November data was released, several well-known economists and experts expressed concern about the slowdown in the U.S. labor market.

Economist Justin Wolfers said it was still unclear whether the U.S. economy had entered a recession, but he pointed out that employment trends indicate a significant slowdown in economic growth.

He also claimed that since the implementation of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff policy, the U.S. economy had "zero new jobs." However, Wolfers' claim was not confirmed by data.

Additionally, as reported by the private sector, the U.S. labor market is experiencing a crisis, with a sharp increase in layoffs and a sudden drop in hiring, as artificial intelligence (AI) is quietly replacing workers at an unprecedented speed.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7587548234076258851/

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