'Leaving working families in the dust': Donald Trump just got some very bad news

Brad Reed
05 September
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 26, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Multiple economic indicators are pointing to a worsening labor market ahead of a critical jobs report due to be released on Friday.

As reported by Bloomberg on Thursday, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas calculated that American companies announced plans to add just under 1,500 jobs last month, which is the lowest total of announced job additions for any month going all the way back to 2009, when the United States was in the depth of the Great Recession.

What's more, the firm found that announced job cuts last month totaled nearly 86,000, which was the largest August total since 2020, when the United States was in the throes of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Data from processing firm ADP, meanwhile, projected that the economy only added 54,000 jobs last month, which was below economists' consensus forecast of 75,000 jobs added. Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, said in a statement that the labor market has been "whipsawed by uncertainty" caused in part of US President Donald Trump's tariffs, as well as disruption caused by the spread of artificial intelligence.

ADP's survey has traditionally been seen as less reliable than the monthly survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), although that might change after Trump fired former Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, whom he accused of delivering negative numbers to hurt him politically, without providing any evidence.

However, ADP isn't alone in predicting weaker-than-expected job growth. Economist Bill McBride noted in a post on Bluesky that economists at investment bank Goldman Sachs are estimating the economy created 60,000 jobs last month, or 15,000 fewer than economists' consensus forecast. Goldman also projected that "the unemployment rate edged up to 4.3% on a rounded basis" last month.

Weekly jobless claims numbers released Thursday also pointed to a weakening labor market, as new claims last week totaled 237,000, above economists' consensus estimate of 231,000, and the highest weekly total since late June.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) pointed to the weak labor market indicators in a social media post and blasted Trump's management of the American economy.

"More bad jobs numbers from Trump's economy," she said. "This is the direct result of policies that only work for billionaires and corporations while leaving working families in the dust."

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