So due to the moronic tariffs and other Trump policies the US job market is in a total mess, with numbers approaching Covid levels. "It's the economy, stupid" was Bill Clinton's mantra when he won over Bush Sr.

And judging by Trump's (dis)approval numbers, that certainly seems to still be the case.

'The job market was already ‘slim pickings.’ New data shows it just got worse'

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/05/economy/us-jobs-data-layoffs-hiring

"The labor market is becoming increasingly inhospitable in the United States, as demand for workers continues to wane and job postings are at their lowest levels since the pandemic.

New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Thursday showed that the estimated number of job openings sank to 6.54 million at the end of December, settling at the lowest level since September 2020. Hiring, quits and layoff rates held relatively steady.

The latest BLS report alongside other labor market data released this week provided further confirmation that the “low-hire, low-fire” slog continues."

These really are red alert numbers. Worst January since 2009!

Come on! It's the Best Economy Ever....Again. Trump said so.

Okay, there was one layoff....that woman who used to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics until Trump fired her.

Who are you going to believe? It's like Trump's pornstar payoff thing. Trump says he never schtupped Stormy Daniels, and she says he did.

Are you going to believe a fake blonde with big boobs? Or Stormy Daniels?

So far none of usual Trump supporters have posted anything to counter the bad news. Probably because they dispute the statistics and/or they believe it has nothing to do with Trump and his tariffs.

Just now, Hawaiian said:

So far none of usual Trump supporters have posted anything to counter the bad news. Probably because they dispute the statistics or else they believe it has nothing to do with Trump and his tariffs.

They’ll be along soon lip sinking the talking points they are fed.

And native born unemployment increased under Trump! 😁

Trumpian MAGAmath is rather tricky. Trump had Peter Navarro go on with Maria Bartiromo and spin the upcoming job numbers. It was math as only a MAGA could do. You don't need a calculator or an abacus, but a Ouija Board.

Navarro said we have to lower our expectations, because we're not getting 2 million illegals a month entering the US. I guess he made up that number.

Then he claimed 200,000 of these migrants were the only ones getting jobs, while Americans went to the UE line. Now, since Trump has ICE sending folks home, we should only expect 50K new jobs per month, but those 50K are the equivalent of 200K under Biden.

WTF?

So sending migrants away slashes job openings?.

Now one also has to remember than a good many of the migrant jobs were involved in fruit and produce production. I guess we're supposed to forget that the BLS monthly number is called Non-Farm Payroll.

Also, the labor force might have undocumented workers, but they are not counted in the labor force, from which UE numbers arise. So when Biden's economy produced the longest string of UE<4% in 64 years, that was because legal Americans were employed.

So I guess in a land where drug prices can fall 600-700%, getting rid of migrants who supposedly filled 200,000 jobs a month per BLS data is the same as 50K and rising unemployment.

Oh, and Trump promised 15% GDP growth. I'm not sure why he didn't go for 150%. I mean, go big or go home, Donny. There's really not much difference between a silly lie and a batsh!t crazy lie.

On 2/10/2026 at 1:49 PM, candide said:

And native born unemployment increased under Trump! 😁

1 hour ago, Wingate said:

Trumpian MAGAmath is rather tricky. Trump had Peter Navarro go on with Maria Bartiromo and spin the upcoming job numbers. It was math as only a MAGA could do. You don't need a calculator or an abacus, but a Ouija Board.

Navarro said we have to lower our expectations, because we're not getting 2 million illegals a month entering the US. I guess he made up that number.

Then he claimed 200,000 of these migrants were the only ones getting jobs, while Americans went to the UE line. Now, since Trump has ICE sending folks home, we should only expect 50K new jobs per month, but those 50K are the equivalent of 200K under Biden.

WTF?

So sending migrants away slashes job openings?.

Now one also has to remember than a good many of the migrant jobs were involved in fruit and produce production. I guess we're supposed to forget that the BLS monthly number is called Non-Farm Payroll.

Also, the labor force might have undocumented workers, but they are not counted in the labor force, from which UE numbers arise. So when Biden's economy produced the longest string of UE<4% in 64 years, that was because legal Americans were employed.

So I guess in a land where drug prices can fall 600-700%, getting rid of migrants who supposedly filled 200,000 jobs a month per BLS data is the same as 50K and rising unemployment.

Oh, and Trump promised 15% GDP growth. I'm not sure why he didn't go for 150%. I mean, go big or go home, Donny. There's really not much difference between a silly lie and a batsh!t crazy lie.

Of course, what Navarro said was BS!

As confirmed by the fact that US born unemployment increased under Trump!

On 2/10/2026 at 1:40 PM, Chomper Higgot said:

They’ll be along soon lip sinking the talking points they are fed.

Russian talking points. Things are going great for Vlad.

The spin on FOX is this was entirely predictable and a direct consequence of the massive deportation of illegal workers.

Anyone?

Wait on, wait on.......isn't this Biden's fault?

I hate to go against the flow of this discussion, but my Web searches reveal a slightly less severe situation for our American friends.

While there is no denying that the U.S. labour market is weaker than it was in recent years, and that hiring has slowed noticeably through 2025–2026, the data do not show a collapse into widespread job losses or a severe recession.

Job creation remains positive overall, and the unemployment rate, although higher than its recent lows, is still within historically moderate ranges rather than crisis territory.

That said, it may be premature to assume we’ve seen the full economic impact of current trade policy. Tariff effects typically filter through supply chains, investment decisions, and hiring plans over time rather than immediately.

Similarly, large-scale deportations could influence future growth, wage pressures, or inflation, particularly in labour-intensive sectors. The overall effect would depend heavily on scale, timing, and how the domestic labour market adjusts.

So, it might still be too early to tell!

For those interested, the sources of my response are:

Mutikani, L., 2026. US job growth likely picked up in January; unemployment rate forecast steady at 4.4%. Reuters, 11 February 2026. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/business/us-job-growth-likely-picked-up-january-unemployment-rate-forecast-steady-44-2026-02-11/(Accessed: [today]) [for unemployment level, weak job gains, benchmark revisions]

Mutikani, L., 2026. US job growth stuck at stall speed in December; unemployment rate dips to 4.4%. Reuters, 9 January 2026. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/business/us-job-growth-slows-december-unemployment-rate-eases-44-2026-01-09/ (Accessed: [today]) [for evidence of slowing job growth]

Associated Press, 2026. US job openings fall to 6.5 million, fewest since 2020, as labor market remains sluggish. AP News, 5 February 2026. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/1304701fb238015de750a931c4175579 (Accessed: [today]) [job openings and continued labour market weakness]

Investopedia, 2026. Goldman Sachs issues warning: job market shifts against college graduates. Investopedia, 11 February 2026. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/workers-who-attended-college-are-being-hit-the-hardest-by-unemployment-11903139 (Accessed: [today]) [for stratified unemployment trends in specific demographic groups]

Michelena, G., Ernst, C. and Bertin, P., 2025. Tariffs and labour markets: The employment impact of the recent trade conflict. arXiv:2512.11578. [for evidence from economic modelling on tariff impacts, including lagged and distributional effects]

Journal of Policy Modeling, 2025. The impact of US deportation policies on the US, Canadian, and Mexican economies. Volume 47, Issue 4, July–August. [for modelling evidence showing possible labour-force and GDP impacts from deportation policies]

39 minutes ago, Jim Waldron said:

I hate to go against the flow of this discussion, but my Web searches reveal a slightly less severe situation for our American friends.

While there is no denying that the U.S. labour market is weaker than it was in recent years, and that hiring has slowed noticeably through 2025–2026, the data do not show a collapse into widespread job losses or a severe recession.

Job creation remains positive overall, and the unemployment rate, although higher than its recent lows, is still within historically moderate ranges rather than crisis territory.

That said, it may be premature to assume we’ve seen the full economic impact of current trade policy. Tariff effects typically filter through supply chains, investment decisions, and hiring plans over time rather than immediately.

Similarly, large-scale deportations could influence future growth, wage pressures, or inflation, particularly in labour-intensive sectors. The overall effect would depend heavily on scale, timing, and how the domestic labour market adjusts.

So, it might still be too early to tell!

For those interested, the sources of my response are:

Mutikani, L., 2026. US job growth likely picked up in January; unemployment rate forecast steady at 4.4%. Reuters, 11 February 2026. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/business/us-job-growth-likely-picked-up-january-unemployment-rate-forecast-steady-44-2026-02-11/(Accessed: [today]) [for unemployment level, weak job gains, benchmark revisions]

Mutikani, L., 2026. US job growth stuck at stall speed in December; unemployment rate dips to 4.4%. Reuters, 9 January 2026. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/business/us-job-growth-slows-december-unemployment-rate-eases-44-2026-01-09/ (Accessed: [today]) [for evidence of slowing job growth]

Associated Press, 2026. US job openings fall to 6.5 million, fewest since 2020, as labor market remains sluggish. AP News, 5 February 2026. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/1304701fb238015de750a931c4175579 (Accessed: [today]) [job openings and continued labour market weakness]

Investopedia, 2026. Goldman Sachs issues warning: job market shifts against college graduates. Investopedia, 11 February 2026. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/workers-who-attended-college-are-being-hit-the-hardest-by-unemployment-11903139 (Accessed: [today]) [for stratified unemployment trends in specific demographic groups]

Michelena, G., Ernst, C. and Bertin, P., 2025. Tariffs and labour markets: The employment impact of the recent trade conflict. arXiv:2512.11578. [for evidence from economic modelling on tariff impacts, including lagged and distributional effects]

Journal of Policy Modeling, 2025. The impact of US deportation policies on the US, Canadian, and Mexican economies. Volume 47, Issue 4, July–August. [for modelling evidence showing possible labour-force and GDP impacts from deportation policies]

The title is provocative, but I don't see any post claiming a collapse or a recession on this thread. Most posts report and comment data from reliable sources (with the usual railing, of course).

I agree with you, the current data only shows a moderate weakness so far. However, it contradicts Trump's promises, and also his recent claims about the economy.

Another issue is that we don't really know how reliable this data is. Job data has been often revised in the past, and usually revised downwards. The disturbance caused by the shutdown adds to the uncertainty about job data accuracy. We'll probably get more reliable data on 2025 only in March, and the major retrospective revision will be issued next summer only.

On 2/8/2026 at 5:17 PM, BLMFem said:

These really are red alert numbers. Worst January since 2009!

correct although that browny nose/bootlicker Navarro try to blame the bad news on the immigrants...

Since Trump returned to office, the economy has only been adding about 49,000 jobs per month on average, compared to about 168,000 jobs per month under former President Joe Biden.

That means Trump presided over the weakest year of jobs gains outside a recession since 2003, and more bad news is expected Wednesday

“We have to revise our expectations down significantly for what a monthly job number should look like,”

Trump Aide Gives Jaw-Dropping Excuse for Humiliating Jobs Numbers

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-aide-gives-jaw-dropping-172204469.html

14 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

correct although that browny nose/bootlicker Navarro try to blame the bad news on the immigrants...

Since Trump returned to office, the economy has only been adding about 49,000 jobs per month on average, compared to about 168,000 jobs per month under former President Joe Biden.

That means Trump presided over the weakest year of jobs gains outside a recession since 2003, and more bad news is expected Wednesday

“We have to revise our expectations down significantly for what a monthly job number should look like,”

Trump Aide Gives Jaw-Dropping Excuse for Humiliating Jobs Numbers

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-aide-gives-jaw-dropping-172204469.html

Yep, illegal immigrants are such convenient scapegoats, guilty of both being lazy and just soaking up benefit, and at the same time taking all available jobs.😆

And how bad are the job numbers when Navarro has to go on Fox and warn MAGA about what's coming!

A post linking to an unapproved quackery website has been removed

9 hours ago, candide said:

Of course, what Navarro said was BS!

As confirmed by the fact that US born unemployment increased under Trump!

You are doing great:

" America’s national debt borrowing binge means interest payments will rocket to $2 trillion a year by 2036, CBO says "

Thank you President Trump.

If you complete your second term as planned, the US economy will be a basket case by election day.

The non-farm payroll number for Jan26 came in at 130,000.

Revisions to 2025:

Original total for all of 2025: 584,000

Revised Number for 2025: 181,000 (Trump as President)

Revised Number for 2024: 2,230,000 (Biden as President)

Biden wins by a landslide, beating Trump's 1st year by 1232%.

Total non-Farm Payroll Growth in 4 years of Biden: ~9,000,000

Avg per month: 187,500

AG Bondi, in her House Hearing yesterday, actually asked why is everyone so concerned about the Epstein Files when the Dow is over 50,000.

Oh, new Dow records are nothing so rare. Most Presidents have presided over one. The last to fail to do so was Jimmy Carter 1976-1980.

27 minutes ago, Wingate said:

The non-farm payroll number for Jan26 came in at 130,000.

Revisions to 2025:

Original total for all of 2025: 584,000

Revised Number for 2025: 181,000 (Trump as President)

Revised Number for 2024: 2,230,000 (Biden as President)

Biden wins by a landslide, beating Trump's 1st year by 1232%.

Total non-Farm Payroll Growth in 4 years of Biden: ~9,000,000

Avg per month: 187,500

AG Bondi, in her House Hearing yesterday, actually asked why is everyone so concerned about the Epstein Files when the Dow is over 50,000.

Oh, new Dow records are nothing so rare. Most Presidents have presided over one. The last to fail to do so was Jimmy Carter 1976-1980.

She even dumber than Trump with her ridiculous deflection. As they say, "Birds of a Feather______"

The latest data further confirms that US born unemployment increased during the first year of Trump's mandate!

Jobs for Americans! 😀

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNU04073413

Though the macro numbers tell a different story and are obviously doctored, the local numbers are truly pathetic and the number of small business closures has been absolutely horrific. In some cities one can see it very apparently by looking at the number for lease signs in busy retail areas, malls, and shopping centers. Many of these closures were over the last year during the Trump Decimation.

12 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Though the macro numbers tell a different story and are obviously doctored, the local numbers are truly pathetic and the number of small business closures has been absolutely horrific. In some cities one can see it very apparently by looking at the number for lease signs in busy retail areas, malls, and shopping centers. Many of these closures were over the last year during the Trump Decimation.

Yes, you really can't rely on any statistics published by this administration.

Gotta say, I'm not seeing it. Except in Government job losses (and that's a good thing, and hopefully just the start). GDP Up. Wages Up. Private employees Up. Native Born Unemployment Statistically unchanged. Government payroll Down.

On 2/10/2026 at 1:39 PM, Hawaiian said:

So far none of usual Trump supporters have posted anything to counter the bad news. Probably because they dispute the statistics and/or they believe it has nothing to do with Trump and his tariffs.

I hear some of them are trying to cash the refund check and some are celebrating all of the winning!

Only the diehard fools are still trying to defend trump.

US economy added 130,000 jobs in January, unemployment falls to 4.3%

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2026/02/11/us-january-jobs-report/88589437007/

U.S. had almost no job growth in 2025

The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that U.S. employers added 181,000 jobs last year, far fewer than the 1.46 million jobs that were added in 2024.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/january-jobs-revisions-trump-rcna258398

The official count of payroll jobs at the end of 2025 was revised downward by more than 1 million on Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/finance-and-economy/4453227/payroll-jobs-number-revised-down-2025/

So much winning!