New job data is here and Trump’s economy is limping along at 15-year low, but White House calls it terrific

The United States added 147,000 jobs in June, beating expectations of 110,000 new positions, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Thursday. The unemployment rate also dropped to 4.1%, which was better than the forecast that predicted a slight increase to 4.3%. The June numbers showed the labor market holding steady despite ongoing economic pressures.

While the monthly figures appear solid on the surface, a closer look at the broader picture reveals concerning trends. The job growth numbers for June represent what economists describe as mediocre performance, though not a complete disaster for the economy. President Donald Trump has been calling for interest rate cuts, and the labor market showed some resilience in this environment.

The White House and its supporters are likely to celebrate the new data as terrific news, but economic experts say the numbers raise important questions about the country’s job market performance. The administration faces a key challenge in explaining why job growth has slowed significantly compared to previous years under different leadership.

Job growth hits slowest pace since Great Recession recovery

The most striking aspect of the latest jobs data becomes clear when looking at the first six months of 2025 as a whole. During this period, the economy added 782,000 jobs total. This figure falls well short of recent years’ performance during the same timeframe.

Comparing the current year to previous periods shows the extent of the slowdown. In the first six months of 2024, when Trump criticized the economy as terrible, the United States added 985,000 jobs. Going back another year, the first half of 2023 saw even stronger growth with 1.53 million new jobs created.

The current job growth pace represents the slowest start to a year since 2010, excluding the pandemic-affected year of 2020. During 2010, the country was still working to recover from the Great Recession, making the comparison particularly notable. This 15-year low in job creation raises questions about the direction of Trump’s economic policies and their impact on employment growth across the nation.