Worrying sign for Donald Trump amid Tariff debate as US creates lower-than-expected jobs

The United States added fewer jobs than expected in February and the unemployment rate ticked up, government data showed Friday, while analysts warn cracks are appearing in the labor market as President Donald Trump returned to office.

The world's biggest economy added 151,000 jobs in February, up from January's revised 125,000 figure, according to the Labor Department. However, economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls advancing by 160,000 jobs after a previously reported 143,000 gain in January.

The unemployment rate edged up to 4.1 per cent from 4.0 per cent.


The report was the first under President Donald Trump's watch. The Trump administration's back-and-forth trade policy was making it hard for businesses to plan ahead, economists said. Business and consumer confidence have plunged since January, erasing all the gains notched in the aftermath of Trump's election victory in November, Reuters reported.

The stock market has sold off, with all three major indexes on Wall Street negative this year and the Nasdaq Composite in correction territory since peaking last December.

President Trump triggered a trade war this week, slapping a new 25 per cent tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with a doubling of duties on Chinese goods to 20 per cent. But on Thursday, Trump exempted goods from both Canada and Mexico under a North American trade pact for a month from the 25 per cent duty.

Layoffs of probationary federal government workers by tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, did not show up in the employment report as most of the purge happened outside the survey week. But hiring and funding freezes slowed government employment, one of the main pillars of job growth in recent years. A bigger hit on government payrolls is expected in March's report.

FAQs

Q1. What is current unemployment rate in the US?
A1. The unemployment rate in the US edged up to 4.1 per cent from 4.0 per cent.

Q2. What do we know about Trump Tariff?
A2. President Donald Trump triggered a trade war this week, slapping a new 25 per cent tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with a doubling of duties on Chinese goods to 20 per cent. But on Thursday, Trump exempted goods from both Canada and Mexico under a North American trade pact for a month from the 25 per cent duty.