Job Hiring Slows Following Trump's Agency Head Firing

U.S. hiring slowed sharply in August with just 22,000 jobs added, the first report since Trump fired its chief as tariffs and federal layoffs weighed.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly jobs report on Friday since President Donald Trump fired Erika McEntarfer as the commissioner following a sour report a month ago.

The latest report showed that hiring in August continued to slow as tariffs and layoffs within the federal government took hold. The report showed the U.S. added just 22,000 jobs in August, far below average. Over the last decade, the U.S. has averaged over 146,000 jobs added per month.

The report also showed a massive slowdown in hiring that got underway in May and continued through the summer. In a typical four-month period, the U.S. would generally add about 585,000 jobs. But in the four months spanning May through August, the U.S. added just 107,000 jobs.

In revised numbers, the report indicated that June marked the first month in five years that the U.S. actually lost jobs.

The report also shows that the percentage of Americans working has dropped 0.4% in the last year.

One bit of positive news for workers is that average weekly wages have increased by about 3.3% in the last year, slightly outpacing inflation.