President Donald Trump on Friday slammed the mainstream media for failing to accurately report the reasons for the country's current unemployment rate.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the jobless rate "ticked up" to 4.5% only because his administration is shrinking the federal workforce "by numbers that have never been seen before."
Trump argued that "100% of our new jobs are in the private sector," adding he could "reduce unemployment to 2% overnight" by hiring more federal workers — "even though those jobs are not necessary."
He urged reporters to describe the rate in that context and said cutting government bloat is "the only way" to "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
The White House echoed the message in a new release, hailing the jobs report as evidence Trump is "fixing the damage caused by [former President] Joe Biden" and rebuilding an "America First economy."
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the report shows job growth is coming "exactly where it should be" — the private sector and native-born Americans.
According to the White House, since September, the private sector has gained 121,000 jobs, while the federal government has shed 168,000 as the administration trims "the runaway federal bureaucracy."
The release said federal employment is now at its lowest level in more than a decade and touted gains in construction hiring as "we build in America — with American workers leading the way."
The Associated Press, reporting on the delayed Labor Department releases, painted a more mixed picture.
The AP said the U.S. added 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.6% — the highest since 2021.
The October decline was driven by a steep drop in federal employment tied to Trump administration cutbacks, while private sector gains were concentrated heavily in healthcare and construction.
The AP also noted hiring has lost momentum this year, with job creation averaging far less than earlier periods, as employers weigh uncertainty around trade policy and the lingering effects of higher interest rates.
The shutdown-delayed data complicated the Federal Reserve's decision-making and helped push the central bank to cut rates again.
The New York Times reported the White House has tried to recast the softer jobs numbers as a sign of progress, emphasizing private sector hiring and arguing that a higher unemployment rate can reflect more people reentering the labor force.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.