The White House is celebrating the release of the December job numbers, which show that the U.S. economy added more than 300,000 jobs and an important increase in the labor participation rate.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order directing federal agencies to recommend changes to a temporary visa program used to bring foreign workers to the United States to fill high-skilled jobs during a visit to the world headquarters of Snap-On Inc, a tool manufacturer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S., April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The jobs numbers appear particularly extraordinary because they came in at nearly double the expected return of 180,000 jobs, with more than 400,000 people re-entering or entering the workforce.
“There is no recession in sight,” White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow triumphantly declared to Bloomberg TV. (RELATED: The Most People In Nearly 20 Years Quit Their Jobs For Better Ones In 2018)
“There’s no recession in sight,” @larry_kudlow tells Bloomberghttps://t.co/O3H2dkSSPP pic.twitter.com/JBYDlmnZk3
— David S. Joachim (@davidjoachim) January 4, 2019
President Donald Trump similarly blared his celebration on Twitter saying:
GREAT JOBS NUMBERS JUST ANNOUNCED!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2019
“Now there are more jobs and there are people to fill them because of this president and his policies in this job number is indicative of the successes of the policies he’s put into place,” White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley similarly said Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump participates in the U.S. Coast Guard Change-of-Command ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis | Trump Tweeted About Jobs Report
The jobs report is a welcome relief to the White House. The administration has sought to bolster financial markets, which have wildly swung up and down in recent days. The dramatic daily gains and losses throughout December 2018 fueled discussion of whether an economic downturn was imminent in the second half of Trump’s presidency.
The stock market quickly bounded upwards after the jobs report, rising nearly 500 points at the time of this report.
#BREAKING: Dow Jones opens 500 points in the green after new report finds unemployment rate up 0.2% pic.twitter.com/81XbyL6skQ
— Willie Gillespie (@wgweather) January 4, 2019
Trump in particular has fixated on the stock market in recent days and attempted to pressure Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell not to raise interest rates. Trump blames stock market fluctuation and rising interest rates for tempering economic growth. Kudlow also told Bloomberg News that Powell is likely to meet with Trump at sometime in the future.
