Washington, D.C. — Center for American Progress Economist Michael Madowitz released the following statement today on the October 2019 Employment Situation figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:
After a busy week of data confirming that the economic slowdown has settled in broadly, today’s jobs report demonstrates how weak wage growth is in this economy.
Manufacturing continues to show weakness, consistent with another quarter of low business investment. As CAP noted, the slowdown in employment defies the simple narrative that manufacturing in the Midwest is an isolated weak spot. In fact, the states with the highest unemployment rates represent many regions of the United States nationwide. Younger workers, Black workers, and Latino workers are facing a disproportionately tougher job market, and half of job growth this year is a result of people working past age 65.
In the almost two years since the Trump administration passed a huge tax cut on the promise of increased investment and faster gross domestic product growth, these effects have still not materialized. In fact, substantial growth in government hiring and spending is masking a very weak year in the private sector. Instead, President Donald Trump’s recurrent trade blunders, financial deregulation, and repeated attempts to sidestep Congress to attack overtime pay and SNAP—essentially taking money out of consumers’ pockets—means that the origin of this slowing economy is clearly 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
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