Trump threatens new tariffs amid solid jobs report
President Donald Trump threatens new tariffs on Canadian goods amid a solid jobs report showing 151,000 new jobs added last month.
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"These are incredible numbers and they're, they're very early," President Trump said in the Oval Office, referring to the new Labor Department report.
The report highlights gains in health care, finance, and transportation. The president also pointed to growth in manufacturing, saying the majority of new jobs were in the private sector.
"We're trying to shrink government and grow the private sector," Trump said.
However, the report also shows a slight increase in the unemployment rate, now at 4.1%.
Federal government employment decreased, and economists expect the mass layoffs to have a bigger impact on the next monthly report.
"I think when we see some confirmation that these cuts are having an impact on the job market, that can only be taken as bad news, because this is what people rely on for their incomes, is employment," said Mark Hamrick, of Bankrate.com.
This comes amid a volatile week on Wall Street, dominated by concerns over Trump's changing trade policies with America's biggest trading partners.
Trump is now threatening new tariffs on Canadian lumber and dairy products.
"Canada has been ripping us off for years on tariffs for lumber and for dairy products — 250% nobody ever talks about that," Trump said. "They'll be met with the exact same tariff, unless they drop it. And that's what reciprocal means. We may do it as early as today or wait until Monday or Tuesday."
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged the high level of uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration's trade policy changes and their potential impact on inflation and interest rates.
"We do not need to be in a hurry, and we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity," Powell said.
On tariffs, Trump says to expect adjustments and warns, "there could be some disturbance" too. This comes one day after he offered Canada and Mexico a partial reprieve.
