Bad Jobs Numbers to Ramp Up Pressure for Tax Reform

The first monthly job loss in seven years is reason enough for Congress to push through major tax reform, say experts.

On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) delivered a mixed bag of news to President Donald Trump and the nation. The news is likely to cause nervousness in an economy that is otherwise booming.

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The nation shed 33,000 jobs in September, the first monthly job loss since September 2010. The economy was expected to add 80,000 new jobs, according to reports.

The hurricanes will likely have a lingering effect on the economy, too. As many as 1.5 million Americans had a job, the BLS said, but did not work during most of September because of weather.

Hurricanes flooded the Houston area and caused massive power outages in Florida. (The survey does not measure employment in U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico.)

Yet the national unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 percent in September. And average hourly earnings climbed a half cent from August. The increase in wages is a sign that Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and illegal workers could be bearing fruit.

Construction was good news in the report as well. While manufacturing payrolls dropped by 1,000, construction hiring rose by 8,000, according to Bloomberg News.

Still, the economy is obviously heating up, meaning a cool-down, or a burst in a bubble, could come eventually.

Trump has been crowing about the record stock market run. Stocks are up in his first eight months, more than under any other new president in recent history. Consumer confidence is also high.

Trump and the GOP-led Congress have proposed a major cut in corporate and small-business taxes, as well as cuts in individual rates. The president believes the cuts will stimulate further economic and jobs growth, new tax revenue, and a drop in the deficit.

“The equation is very simple,” said Jeffrey Lord, a former aide to President Ronald Reagan and the former Trump surrogate on CNN. “The more money in the hands of people, the more jobs get created. John F. Kennedy understood it, and my old bosses Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp understood it. Particularly in the aftermath of devastating storms, the country needs tax cuts — the sooner the better.”

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