This article breaks down how job growth in April had slowed down. There were 177,000 less jobs added than in March but it was still better than expected. The unemployment rate stayed at 4.2%, so the job market’s holding steady for now. But the real concern is what’s supposed to be coming next. With Trump’s proposed tariffs still in place a lot of businesses are going to be forced to have to less hiring and less investment across the board. Right now though things don’t look too bad but you can definitely feel the uncertainty. The Fed isn’t changing interest rates yet, but if inflation or the job market shifts, that could change too. It feels like we’re in this calm before the storm, and how the tariff situation plays out could really tip the balance either way.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/view-april-us-payrolls-growth-slows-before-full-tariff-impact-felt-2025-05-02/
I think an interesting, negative facet of the tariffs is that the tariffs themselves are harmful; however, the way in which they are being introduced seems to be causing uncertainty, which then leads to a downturn in investment. Do you think that if the tariff plan was laid out clearly and not tweaked at all that it would somehow have less of an impact on the overall economy?
ReplyDeleteYou can definitely feel the tension beneath the surface, but it's kind of crazy that the numbers are still respectable despite everything. It seems like we're just waiting to see what breaks first, but things could change quickly if those tariffs start to hit harder.
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