White House Cheers ‘America First’ Jobs Shift as Hiring Slows and Federal Payrolls Shrink

The latest U.S. jobs report offers the Trump administration a political win; and economists a fresh set of concerns. While the White House is celebrating a sharp pullback in federal payrolls and modest private-sector gains, the broader data suggest an economy cooling faster than headline numbers imply.

A Jobs Report That Tells Two Very Different Stories

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. added 64,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in November, beating economists’ expectations but still pointing to slowing momentum. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, its highest level since 2021, underscoring a labor market that appears stable on the surface but increasingly fragile underneath.

White House Frames Federal Job Cuts as a Feature, Not a Bug

The Trump administration wasted little time claiming victory. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the continued decline in federal employment as a deliberate dismantling of bureaucracy, arguing the administration is reversing what it views as excess government expansion under President Biden.

Since January, federal payrolls are down 271,000 jobs; a figure the White House touts as proof of its “America First” restructuring.

Private Sector Gains Provide Political Cover

While government jobs vanished, private-sector hiring continued, with nearly 690,000 positions added since Trump took office.

Health care and construction once again did the heavy lifting, allowing the administration to argue that growth is shifting to productive, market-driven industries rather than taxpayer-funded roles.

That split has become central to the White House’s economic messaging.

Health Care and Construction Keep the Economy Afloat

Health care added 46,000 jobs in November, driven largely by hospitals and ambulatory services. Construction followed with 28,000 new positions, which administration officials credited to domestic manufacturing incentives and infrastructure investment tied to “build in America” policies.

Without these two sectors, job growth would have looked far weaker.

Transportation and Warehousing Signal Consumer Softness

Not all industries shared in the gains. Transportation and warehousing shed 18,000 jobs, particularly among couriers and delivery services; a potential warning sign that consumer demand is cooling as higher interest rates and tariff uncertainty weigh on spending.

The losses reinforce concerns that economic momentum is narrowing rather than broadening.

Shutdown Fallout Distorts an Already Fragile Picture

The report was delayed by a 43-day government shutdown that complicated data collection and reduced survey participation. The BLS acknowledged that November’s estimates carry higher-than-normal error margins, raising doubts about how cleanly the numbers reflect underlying trends.

The administration, however, blamed the shutdown itself for suppressing private-sector hiring, claiming it may have cost the economy as many as 62,000 jobs in October alone.

Job Revisions Quietly Undercut the Headline Win

Revisions to August and September payrolls erased 33,000 previously reported jobs, suggesting the labor market entered the fall weaker than initially believed. October was also revised to show a net loss of 105,000 jobs, largely driven by a mass exodus of federal workers tied to deferred resignation programs.

Those revisions have become harder for investors to ignore.

Wages Rise, But Hiring Slows Sharply

Average hourly earnings rose just 0.1% in November, bringing annual wage growth to 3.5%. While that still outpaces inflation, economists note that wage gains are decelerating alongside hiring.

Since March, monthly job creation has averaged just 35,000; roughly half the pace seen earlier in the year.

Jobless Claims Stay Low; For Now

Weekly unemployment claims fell by 13,000 to 224,000, remaining within a historically healthy range. That suggests layoffs have not yet surged, even as hiring slows and major employers like UPS, Amazon, GM, and Verizon announce workforce reductions that may take months to appear in official data.

For policymakers, claims remain the last line of defense against outright recession fears.

Fed Cuts Rates as Confidence in Jobs Data Wavers

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the third straight meeting, citing concerns that the labor market may be weaker than reported. Chair Jerome Powell warned payroll data could be overstated by as much as 60,000 jobs per month due to lingering statistical distortions.

That uncertainty means the Fed; like investors; may treat the November report with caution rather than conviction.

An Economy in Transition

For now, the White House is leaning into the political upside: fewer federal workers, more private-sector jobs, and an economy reshaped around domestic priorities. But beneath the rhetoric, hiring has slowed, unemployment is rising, and growth is increasingly concentrated in just a few sectors.

Whether this “America First” labor shift proves sustainable; or simply masks a broader slowdown, may become clearer when the next jobs report arrives in January.