Trump Econ Chief Confronted by CNBC Anchor Over Tanking Jobs Report Insists The Economy Is Really Strong!'

"Well, I think Jim's right that there have been so many strong indicators this month that it's something of a surprise. But there's some weather, there are strikes on the West Coast, and I think that we also have this birth-death model, the change in the procedure at the BLS. And so I think what we need to start doing with these jobs numbers, at least on the payroll side, is take the average over a few months."

"But on average. It's about what we expect to be seeing because immigration has gone down by so much that break-even employment is probably in the sort of 30 or 40,000 jobs a month range. And so, yeah, I think it's consistent with everything else we're seeing, which is that the economy is really strong!"

A February employment report revealed unexpected job losses of 92,000 and downward revisions of 69,000, contrary to economist expectations of 50,000 job gains. The workforce participation rate also declined sharply. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett addressed the disappointing data on CNBC, acknowledging the surprise but attributing it to temporary factors including weather conditions, West Coast strikes, and changes in the Bureau of Labor Statistics birth-death model. Hassett argued that averaging job growth over several months provides a more accurate picture, noting that with reduced immigration, break-even employment is approximately 30,000-40,000 jobs monthly. He maintained that overall economic indicators remain strong despite the monthly weakness.

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