Federal figures that show the U.S. economy added 138,000 jobs in May are not a "catastrophe," but the lackluster numbers are a sign that employment growth is slowing down for now, veteran economist Larry Kudlow tells Newsmax TV.
"The consensus was about 180. So it was under. Not a catastrophe. It's not a recession. It just came under the consensus," Kudlow said Friday to Newsmax's Steve Malzberg after the release of the job figures by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"My guess is jobs will gradually slow down, but it's too bad in a sense if we can reform a lot of these anti-poverty, welfare-type programs to provide incentives to work rather than exist on government."
Kudlow, also a Newsmax Finance Insider, said while the United States is in its eighth year of economic recovery, "it's a lousy recovery."
"I don't expect any miracles out of the jobs. You get miracles out of the jobs if you stimulate business investment and if we the darn tax cuts through, then you'll see a pick-up. But right now retail is very soft . . . There's nothing really great or new happening out there," he told Malzberg.
"That's why I think the business tax cuts proposed by [President Donald] Trump are so darn important. The sooner they get that through the faster we're going to grow."
Kudlow, who was an economic adviser to Trump's presidential campaign, said the rise of stock prices following the commander in chief's decision to exit the Paris Accord "tells me the stock market believes that Trump's pulling out . . . is bullish for growth."
"Why would you want a policy? This was classic [Barack] Obama who hates fossil fuels. So he signs on to this accord. He never gets a treaty ratified by the Senate which he should've done," Kudlow said.
"Natural gas is the most efficient. It's one of our greatest electricity power resources. It's only going to grow over time to fuel the nation's economy. Why would you want to stifle that? Why would you pass regulations to stifle that? Why would you sign international agreements to stifle that?
"It just doesn't make any sense. Therefore, Trump's action says 'well we're not going to stifle it. We're going to let 1,000 flowers bloom with technology and economic growth' and the market shot right up. I think that's perfect. It just ratifies what Trump is doing."
Kudlow, a CNBC senior contributor and host of "The Larry Kudlow Show," is the author of "JFK and the Reagan Revolution: A Secret History of American Prosperity," written with Brian Domitrovic and published by Portfolio.
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