Reference News Network, July 5 report - According to the CNN website on July 3, on the surface, the June employment report reflects a strong U.S. economy: the unemployment rate is at a historic low, a significant number of new jobs have been added, and wage growth has outpaced inflation. However, upon deeper analysis of the data, some issues emerge that may cast a shadow over this optimistic outlook - and Trump's economic policies are the main cause of these problems.

147,000 new jobs were added in June, far exceeding the expected figure (117,500). Traditional stable sectors such as local and state governments, education, leisure and hospitality, and healthcare achieved steady growth.

The unemployment rate data was also encouraging, dropping from an expected 4.3% to 4.1%.

The much-anticipated monthly revised data also sent positive signals: the data for April and May were both upwardly adjusted, whereas previously, the previous figures were often downwardly revised. For example, the 228,000 new jobs in March, which far exceeded expectations, were eventually revised down by 108,000.

However, there were also negative signals in the June report beyond the core data.

The difficulty of finding a job for Americans has continued to increase: the average duration of unemployment increased from 21.8 weeks to 23 weeks, and the proportion of workers unemployed for 27 weeks or more rose to 23.3%, close to the peak in three years. Trump's tariff policy - and its repeated back-and-forth between implementation and suspension - has caused many companies to delay major strategic decisions and spending plans, including hiring arrangements.

Manufacturing employment was poor: 7,000 jobs were lost, marking the second consecutive month of decline. This is not good news for Trump's core economic goals.

Job growth was not widespread: the months with larger increases were mainly departments less affected by tariffs.

Working hours shortened: the average weekly working hours for workers in June decreased by 0.1 hour, to 34.2 hours. Dean Baker, an economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, pointed out that this could indicate a weakening in labor demand.

Black unemployment rate increased: The June report showed that the unemployment rate for African Americans rose from 6% to 6.8%, the highest since January 2022. This is usually a sign of economic weakness.

Female workforce decreased: Data shows that employment growth may mainly benefit men. The National Women's Law Center stated on Thursday that since January, the female workforce has decreased by 338,000 net, while the male workforce increased by 183,000.

Wage growth slowed: Although wage growth rebounded last month, it still fell below economists' expectations. Average hourly earnings in June only increased by 0.2%, with the annual growth rate declining from 3.9% to 3.7%.

Contradictory points worth noting in the data: While the unemployment rate decreased, the size of the labor force also shrank - mainly due to the loss of more than 1 million foreign workers in the previous quarter. This structural adjustment allowed the unemployment rate to remain stable or even decrease despite an increase in the number of unemployed people.

Foreign laborers: Trump's policies include large-scale crackdowns on immigration and targeted deportations of laborers, causing businesses to lose a group of key laborers in recent years.

Currently, the U.S. job market continues to exceed expectations. However, as the July 9 deadline for the tariff agreement set by Trump for his main trading partners approaches, and his signature domestic policy bill is still under discussion in Congress, the outlook for businesses and employees remains full of uncertainty. (Translated/ Wang Dongdong)

On June 25, a factory producing metal parts in Belcamp, USA. (AFP)

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