CNN Reporter: Trump’s Tariffs May Be Backfiring as Job Growth Slumps
August jobs report and industry data show losses concentrated in tariff-exposed sectors, and surveys indicate businesses largely see tariffs as harmful
A CNN correspondent warned that President Donald Trump’s tariff policy could be “backfiring completely” as new government data and industry surveys point to weak job growth and losses concentrated in sectors exposed to import taxes.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy added just 22,000 jobs in August and that the unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent, the highest level in four years. CNN reporter Matt Egan said the figures look "especially grim" for industries vulnerable to tariffs. BLS payroll data showed manufacturing lost 12,000 jobs in August, wholesale trade shed 11,700 jobs, construction fell by 7,000 and mining and logging declined by 6,000.
Egan and analysts pointed to an emerging pattern in which tariff-exposed industries began losing jobs shortly after the administration launched a broader trade campaign. A report from asset manager Apollo Global Management cited by Egan found that layoffs in tariff-sensitive sectors accelerated after the White House imposed new duties. BLS month-to-month figures reviewed by Egan show manufacturing payrolls falling by between 2,000 and 17,000 jobs each month since May, the month following what the administration termed its "Liberation Day" tariff actions.
Surveys of businesses reinforce the view that tariffs are weighing on activity. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas asked firms whether they had been impacted by tariffs this year; 72 percent reported a negative effect, 4 percent reported a positive effect and 17 percent reported no impact. Separately, a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey showed the perceived probability of finding a job after job loss fell to nearly 45 percent in August, the lowest reading since June 2013.
The Trump administration has described tariffs as a tool to spur a U.S. manufacturing renaissance and boost job creation. Egan summarized views from economists who say the policy, at best, has produced a slow start and, at worst, may be counterproductive for the very industries the administration aims to help.
The August data and contemporaneous surveys suggest the immediate labor-market effects of the tariff campaign have been mixed and, in some tariff-exposed sectors, negative. Analysts and policy researchers continue to monitor monthly employment reports and business surveys for signs the trends will reverse as firms and consumers adjust to higher import costs and shifting global trade arrangements.