It's all about jobs. Trump needs to keep in mind that if he wants to be considered successful, he needs to make sure Americans are able to get jobs. Everything else follows.

He did not create this mess but he now owns it.

People still feel that they cannot get jobs and everything is funneled away to other countries or to visa people. Perception is reality.

Unemployment rate hit 4-year high in November even as economy added jobs
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/unemployment-rate-hit-4-year-high-in-november-even-as-economy-added-jobs-133749371.html

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The US economy added 64,000 jobs in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Quote:

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The US economy added 64,000 jobs in November as the unemployment rate crept up to 4.6%, according to Labor Department data published Tuesday.

The unemployment rate is now at its highest level since September 2021.

The November jobs report, originally scheduled to be published Dec. 5 before the 43-day government shutdown delayed multiple economic data releases, comes as Americans stress over rising layoffs and a frozen job market that can feel impossible to break into. Tuesday's report suggested those conditions persisted toward the end of the year.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a gain of 50,000 jobs. The healthcare sector, which has fueled job growth this year, added 46,000 positions for the month.

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The US economy is in a hiring recession.

Almost no jobs have been added since April.
Wage gains are slowing.
710,000 more people are unemployed now versus November 2024.

November +64,000 jobs
October -105,000 (impacted by shutdown)
September +108,000
August -26,000
July… pic.twitter.com/ULtXWyjTzk

— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) December 16, 2025

Fed response: let's buy more treasuries!

Ervin Burrell said:

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Time to fire more number crunchers in the Labor Department - that's the real issue, not the economy at large.

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Both can be true.

Logos Stick said:

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Old McDonald said:

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Quote:

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Almost no jobs have been added since April.

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turns out trump's "day of liberation" was actually about liberating the country from the burden of employment!

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hey there my liberal friend... are you aware that the big drop in October was mostly government jobs?! 157,000 to be exact!

We don't need those jobs.

This is a GOOD thing.

Since April we've lost about 208,000 government jobs! HOORAY!

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Now to see if the non hardcore right voters feel the same way when it's time to cast their votes if things don't turn for the better by the midterms.

For us, it's all a game. Our lives haven't been affected by any of this one iota. But the fact is even conservatives lost their federal government jobs and in red states at that. That's what is going to make things so interesting to see what happens in the midterms.

But for us, sure, "Hooray"

Old McDonald said:

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Quote:

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Almost no jobs have been added since April.

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turns out trump's "day of liberation" was actually about liberating the country from the burden of employment!

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I don't know about that but what I do know is that to survive in the America of the future you need to become an investor. Put money in the market and let H1B slaves work for you while you kick back with a cool drink.

I am well on my way for that. Why struggle through toxic work politics and rounds and rounds of pointless interviews which seem like high school exams?

Maybe the Boomers are right about this.

I disagree and I think the previous election proves my point.

Biden had lower unemployment when Kamala Harris ran in November 2024.

but inflation had been MUCH higher.

so would you rather have high inflation for 100% of the people?

or unemployment of 4.7%- for 4.7% of the people?

Another interesting angle that isn't discussed. My wife actually has two clients who are conservatives that were employed by the Federal government - one male and one female. Both were laid off.

The guy told her he agreed with what Trump was doing and that he just unfortunately got caught up in it. He immediately started pursuing other opportunities.

The woman, I think, was more neutral on it. She hasn't been as outspoken as the guy about it but she never really complained about it other than it put her in a financial/medical pickle because she's the breadwinner with a husband who has health issues.

LMCane said:

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I disagree and I think the previous election proves my point.

Biden had lower unemployment when Kamala Harris ran in November 2024.

but inflation had been MUCH higher.

so would you rather have high inflation for 100% of the people?

or unemployment of 4.7%- for 4.7% of the people?

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And some percentage of the 4.7% are ok with not working.

one safe place said:

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LMCane said:

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I disagree and I think the previous election proves my point.

Biden had lower unemployment when Kamala Harris ran in November 2024.

but inflation had been MUCH higher.

so would you rather have high inflation for 100% of the people?

or unemployment of 4.7%- for 4.7% of the people?

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And some percentage of the 4.7% are ok with not working.

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Yeah, that number has always been misleading. And then you have the separate % of people who have given up and are not counted as part of it. Or at least that's how it used to be. The methodologies on these stats get changed so much they are all mostly meaningless.

LMCane said:

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I disagree and I think the previous election proves my point.

Biden had lower unemployment when Kamala Harris ran in November 2024.

but inflation had been MUCH higher.

so would you rather have high inflation for 100% of the people?

or unemployment of 4.7%- for 4.7% of the people?

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4-5% is considered FULL employment. We're good!

The average unemployment rate under Barack Obama was 7.4%. Wake me up when we approach that figure.

4.6% unemployment is pretty close to full employment, especially with interest rates as high as they have been.

Got to have some bad news to cut interest rates. What does a .25 cut save the government in debt service? Had three this year i believe.

YouBet said:

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Another interesting angle that isn't discussed. My wife actually has two clients who are conservatives that were employed by the Federal government - one male and one female. Both were laid off.

The guy told her he agreed with what Trump was doing and that he just unfortunately got caught up in it. He immediately started pursuing other opportunities.

The woman, I think, was more neutral on it. She hasn't been as outspoken as the guy about it but she never really complained about it other than it put her in a financial/medical pickle because she's the breadwinner with a husband who has health issues.

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Great examples. Fact is, it affects people of all walks and on both sides of the aisle, most I'm sure never planned on losing their jobs the way they did.

Also, as an aside: Why didn't people who agreed with what Trump was doing even have federal jobs in the first place? That just seems odd to me to work at a place you personally think shouldn't exist.

So long as Israel is happy, Trump doesn't care. He'll tell you it's all great and you should be happy.

MasonStorm said:

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Got to have some bad news to cut interest rates. What does a .25 cut save the government in debt service? Had three this year i believe.

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The problem with that is that US treasuries yields are not really moving with the Fed rate. The 10 year yield is UP about 1/10th of a percent since Powell started making rate moves.

No Spin Ag said:

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YouBet said:

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Another interesting angle that isn't discussed. My wife actually has two clients who are conservatives that were employed by the Federal government - one male and one female. Both were laid off.

The guy told her he agreed with what Trump was doing and that he just unfortunately got caught up in it. He immediately started pursuing other opportunities.

The woman, I think, was more neutral on it. She hasn't been as outspoken as the guy about it but she never really complained about it other than it put her in a financial/medical pickle because she's the breadwinner with a husband who has health issues.

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Great examples. Fact is, it affects people of all walks and on both sides of the aisle, most I'm sure never planned on losing their jobs the way they did.

Also, as an aside: Why didn't people who agreed with Edgar Trump was doing even have federal jobs in the first place? That just seems odd to me to work at a place you personally think shouldn't exist.

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One potential difference here is that neither of these people are in DC. One is in Pennsylvania, and the other is in San Antonio, so they aren't within the hive mind.

Street Fighter said:

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So long as Israel is happy, Trump doesn't care. He'll tell you it's all great and you should be happy.

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It's gotta be the Jooos!

Embarassment to my outfit.

Saw this very interesting post on Linkedin.

Looks like Boomers recommending young grads to become plumbers, HVAC and electricians while Indian kids become AI researchers due to a fixed job market is more widespread that just TexAgs.

Maybe this is a nefarious and deep-rooted Boomer Network conspiracy. The more H1B slaves, the higher the 401k returns.

YouBet said:

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No Spin Ag said:

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YouBet said:

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Another interesting angle that isn't discussed. My wife actually has two clients who are conservatives that were employed by the Federal government - one male and one female. Both were laid off.

The guy told her he agreed with what Trump was doing and that he just unfortunately got caught up in it. He immediately started pursuing other opportunities.

The woman, I think, was more neutral on it. She hasn't been as outspoken as the guy about it but she never really complained about it other than it put her in a financial/medical pickle because she's the breadwinner with a husband who has health issues.

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Great examples. Fact is, it affects people of all walks and on both sides of the aisle, most I'm sure never planned on losing their jobs the way they did.

Also, as an aside: Why didn't people who agreed with Edgar Trump was doing even have federal jobs in the first place? That just seems odd to me to work at a place you personally think shouldn't exist.

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One potential difference here is that neither of these people are in DC. One is in Pennsylvania, and the other is in San Antonio, so they aren't within the hive mind.

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That makes a lot of sense.

Morbo the Annihilator said:

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Street Fighter said:

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So long as Israel is happy, Trump doesn't care. He'll tell you it's all great and you should be happy.

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It's gotta be the Jooos!

Embarassment to my outfit.

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Never said joos nancy.

Street Fighter said:

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So long as Israel is happy, Trump doesn't care. He'll tell you it's all great and you should be happy.

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This post is crap.

Take that crap elsewhere.

Actual adults are trying to have a conversation here about unemployment.

"He did not create this mess but he now owns it."

How many years does he get to be president before anything happening is his fault?

But, I'm not sure why that matters? He's campaigning again and telling people everything is wonderful. What more do the people want??

infinity ag said:

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Saw this very interesting post on Linkedin.

Looks like Boomers recommending young grads to become plumbers, HVAC and electricians while Indian kids become AI researchers due to a fixed job market is more widespread that just TexAgs.

Maybe this is a nefarious and deep-rooted Boomer Network conspiracy. The more H1B slaves, the higher the 401k returns.

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This guy is a bad economist.

He forgot supply and demand.

The supply of trademan sucks right now, and is shrinking due to cultural headwinds. The demand is still strong. The demand for tradesmen that aren't addicted to opioids is huge.

The number of people that will be needed for entry level knowledge jobs is shrinking, fast. An analyst armed with AI can do what 8 first year analysts could do just 5 years ago. The supply of people looking for knowledge jobs isn't shrinking.

There is a reason why an experienced bookkeeper makes less than a plumber's assistant right now.

infinity ag said:

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Old McDonald said:

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Quote:

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Almost no jobs have been added since April.

---

turns out trump's "day of liberation" was actually about liberating the country from the burden of employment!

---

I don't know about that but what I do know is that to survive in the America of the future you need to become an investor. Put money in the market and let H1B slaves work for you while you kick back with a cool drink.

I am well on my way for that. Why struggle through toxic work politics and rounds and rounds of pointless interviews which seem like high school exams?

Maybe the Boomers are right about this.

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We are. So much fun to make 2 to 4 times your salary while sleeping.

Benjamin Todd seems like an abject ****** with poor data and even worse conclusions.

There is some scuttle / talking point that the increase is also due to more people looking for jobs.

Cutting of government jobs, reducing federal programs, cutting subsidies alongside FWA means some people actually have to go to work.

Very well could be hiding / offsetting real job growth.

And as pointed out, 4.6% is about where you want it.

There are a number of business owners I know who are reluctant to hire because they don't know what the business and trade rules are going to be. This is the challenge when you have ever changing tariffs, allowed and banned tariffs, etc. I

Who is going to invest in a new plant that needs to make money for 20 years if you tariff policies can greatly affect your raw material costs, selling price etc and they can be changed on a moments notice by one person? To fix this, Trump needs to get the final trade deals enacted into law by Congress and signed by him.

Lower government headcount is awesome.
The unemployment rate, low, great.

Politically, the bigger issue for Trump is the lack of job mobility.

We get about 500-1000 applicants for every single technical job we have open. Employers are being very picky and choosy, because it's clearly an employers market.

Lets face it. Most jobs suck (I mean it is work). Right now, its very difficult to find new jobs or switch jobs. What keeps you going is the promise of a new position, new challenges. Without this mobility there are a lot more people fully employed, and but very unhappy in their current jobs, unable to move (I see this anecdotally, at a level rivaling 2008).

That does not bode well for Trump. Fair or unfair, they will take it out on Trump.

We know they all fudge numbers (politicians and agencies.)

If I Doordash AND Uber Eats, is that 2 jobs? What if you are doing that because AI gobbled up your job?

Asking for a friend that does "reports" on job numbers.

Lots have been fired in government. Thats a great thing!