October Brought 250,000 New Jobs, Despite Bad Trade Restrictions

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The American economy added 250,000 jobs in October, the U.S. Labor Department announced today. The unemployment rate was meanwhile unchanged from last month, at 3.7 percent – a 50-year low. That’s good news for the economy – it shows that even President Trump’s costly trade tariffs aren’t eclipsing growth, says Ryan Young, CEI fellow:

“Politicians don’t actually run the economy, and hence don’t have that much influence over employment rates or the business cycle. The fundamentals of the U.S. economy are strong, and it is showing in the 250,000 new jobs created in October. In a further show of strength, even with President Trump’s trade policies slowing economic growth by as much as 1.8 percentage points, the economy still grew by 3.5 percent last quarter.  The President’s supporters and critics alike should be delighted at today’s jobs report, and should work together on a range of beneficial policies, from lowering trade barriers to stronger central bank independence to reining in executive branch regulatory excesses.”

Young co-authored a recent report making the case for free trade, Traders of the Lost ArkRediscovering a Moral and Economic Case for Free Trade.