Washington, D.C. — Center for American Progress Economist Kate Bahn released the following statement today on the June 2017 employment situation figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:
The economy under Trump is steady but lackluster. The broader U-6 measure of unemployment—which includes the unemployed plus all people marginally attached to the labor force—increased marginally to 8.6 percent between May and June, while the headline U-3 rate of only those who are actively looking for work remained little changed at 4.4 percent. Moreover, the amount of people who are marginally attached to the labor force, as measured by U-6 unemployment, remains higher than in previous expansionary periods, and unemployment rates remain troublingly high among certain groups, such as African American men.
All at the same time, Trump’s campaign promises to focus on jobs have remained completely unfulfilled. Since the last employment report a month ago, many of the jobs he had supposedly saved at the Carrier plant in Indiana are now scheduled to move abroad beginning this month. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to support congressional GOP efforts that will make life worse for everyday Americans. Such efforts include tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations that will inevitably lead to cuts to programs that support working- and middle-class Americans as well as repealing the Affordable Care Act, which will snatch life-saving health care from millions. These policies do little to create the jobs that his campaign promised and further underscores the fact that the Trump administration is failing to secure real economic security for the vast majority of Americans.
Related resource: The State of the U.S. Labor Market: Pre-July 2017 Jobs Release by Gregg Gelzinis and Michael Madowitz
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] or 202.478.6331.