WEBVTT - US Labor Secretary Talks ‘Positive’ July Jobs Report

0:00:02.759 --> 0:00:08.840
<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. Right now, we want

0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:11.680
<v Speaker 1>to turn back to the labor market. The US economy

0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:15.760
<v Speaker 1>added just seventy three thousand jobs in July, below almost

0:00:15.800 --> 0:00:17.960
<v Speaker 1>all estimates. And joining us now and please just say

0:00:17.960 --> 0:00:21.319
<v Speaker 1>we have Labor Secretary Lori Chavez d Ramir. Great to

0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:24.560
<v Speaker 1>have you with US. Secretary. Let's just start with these numbers,

0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:27.400
<v Speaker 1>because the figure that we got that was below all

0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:31.600
<v Speaker 1>estimates in the Bloomberg survey of economists to start.

0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:35.280
<v Speaker 2>What's your reaction, Well, certainly, we know they could have

0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:38.479
<v Speaker 2>been better, but you know, we look at the positive

0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:40.840
<v Speaker 2>because we still have a net positive almost a half

0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:43.960
<v Speaker 2>a million new jobs since the President took office. Where

0:00:43.960 --> 0:00:46.760
<v Speaker 2>did we see some of these you know gains. We

0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:49.639
<v Speaker 2>saw them in healthcare, we're seeing them in construction. We

0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:52.800
<v Speaker 2>are seeing the revisions I knows something to talk about,

0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:56.360
<v Speaker 2>and they were unexpected, those revisions. But most of those

0:00:56.360 --> 0:00:59.920
<v Speaker 2>sixty two percent of those were in education and seasonal workforce.

0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:02.360
<v Speaker 2>So you know, we sometimes see the numbers catch up

0:01:02.360 --> 0:01:04.280
<v Speaker 2>to what's on the ground. But I can tell you

0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:07.360
<v Speaker 2>why we're positive is because the President is delivering on

0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:11.319
<v Speaker 2>these trade deals, these tariff deals, understanding new countries are

0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:13.720
<v Speaker 2>moving forward and wanting to be at the table. And

0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:17.800
<v Speaker 2>why does that matter to the American business owner? As

0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:19.759
<v Speaker 2>you all know, I've been on my fifty state tour.

0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:22.840
<v Speaker 2>I just returned from several states. A lot of these

0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:26.000
<v Speaker 2>business owners had some uncertainty and understanding what was going

0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:28.320
<v Speaker 2>to happen. But now that the one big, beautiful bill

0:01:28.400 --> 0:01:30.679
<v Speaker 2>is done, I feel like the table has been set

0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:33.840
<v Speaker 2>and we're seeing those investments happen. So we've seen positive

0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:37.160
<v Speaker 2>job growth for sure, and they've been for the American workforce.

0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:39.920
<v Speaker 2>Native born workers are taking the lead. All job gains

0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:41.200
<v Speaker 2>have been native born workers.

0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:43.760
<v Speaker 3>I mean, with all due respect the positive job growth.

0:01:43.760 --> 0:01:46.720
<v Speaker 3>The most positive months you saw were still what the

0:01:46.760 --> 0:01:49.240
<v Speaker 3>Trump administration was calling the Biden economy. Right for the

0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.160
<v Speaker 3>first few months, when we saw those big numbers, that

0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:55.160
<v Speaker 3>was the Biden economy. Now that the Trump policy is

0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:58.320
<v Speaker 3>taking effect, you're seeing downward revisions of two hundred and

0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:01.360
<v Speaker 3>fifty eight thousand over the last couple of months, only

0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:04.880
<v Speaker 3>seventy three thousand jobs added. And it looks like, not

0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:10.400
<v Speaker 3>just to me, but to participants in this market, that

0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:15.280
<v Speaker 3>today's week payroll numbers are a direct result of the

0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:19.080
<v Speaker 3>conscious policy to limit immigration, and I'm just wondering if

0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:21.600
<v Speaker 3>that trade off is delivering the kind of benefits you

0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:23.400
<v Speaker 3>want to see to US born workers.

0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:26.400
<v Speaker 2>Well, I can tell you this, I've been a business

0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:28.919
<v Speaker 2>owner for twenty years. When we make decisions, we look

0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:32.520
<v Speaker 2>at all aspects, and there's certainly snapshots. But what has

0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:36.000
<v Speaker 2>happened on the ground, the one big beautiful bill by Congress,

0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:39.079
<v Speaker 2>the President leaning in and keeping the promises made by

0:02:39.240 --> 0:02:44.160
<v Speaker 2>negotiating fair trade deals for the American workforce. And now

0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:46.760
<v Speaker 2>what we need is the Federal Reserve to jump in

0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:49.640
<v Speaker 2>and lower those interest rates. I talked to businesses just

0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:52.600
<v Speaker 2>yesterday who said, you know, we've invested in our American workers,

0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:55.880
<v Speaker 2>We're paying attention to our facilities. We're wanting to invest

0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:58.640
<v Speaker 2>in borrow more money, but they're concerned with borrowing that

0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:01.280
<v Speaker 2>more money. So that's another leg of the stool that

0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:03.760
<v Speaker 2>can be done. We should all be rowing in the

0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:04.359
<v Speaker 2>same direction.

0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:06.600
<v Speaker 3>But is it the only leg of the stool that matters,

0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:10.280
<v Speaker 3>Madam Secretary, Because we had a three month run rate

0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:12.520
<v Speaker 3>adding one hundred and fifty thousand jobs, and now that

0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:18.320
<v Speaker 3>those policies that this administration has put into effect are active,

0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:20.720
<v Speaker 3>we're looking at a run rate a three month run

0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:25.320
<v Speaker 3>rate of thirty seven thousand, So it's drastically fallen. And

0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:28.320
<v Speaker 3>what it looks like is the policies that you're putting

0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:31.240
<v Speaker 3>into place are reducing job growth.

0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:34.800
<v Speaker 2>Strong job growth has happened three point nine percent over

0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:38.600
<v Speaker 2>the last year. Consumer confidence is up, unemployment is holding

0:03:38.680 --> 0:03:42.120
<v Speaker 2>steady again. Almost a half a million new jobs have

0:03:42.160 --> 0:03:44.080
<v Speaker 2>been added since President Trump has leaned in.

0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:44.960
<v Speaker 3>I can tell you this.

0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:48.360
<v Speaker 2>It's not the only leg of the stool for interest rates,

0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:50.800
<v Speaker 2>but it's one of the important legs right now because

0:03:50.840 --> 0:03:53.560
<v Speaker 2>as businesses now know that the table is set with

0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:55.680
<v Speaker 2>the one big beautiful bill, they know that they can

0:03:55.720 --> 0:03:58.360
<v Speaker 2>have the right offs for their businesses. They understand that

0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:01.240
<v Speaker 2>they will have the skilled work for MY job on

0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:04.320
<v Speaker 2>the ground is provide that workforce. They're asking me, and

0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:07.080
<v Speaker 2>I'm asking them to invest in their workers, invest in

0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:11.080
<v Speaker 2>their companies, invest in their businesses across the country to

0:04:11.120 --> 0:04:14.400
<v Speaker 2>grow this economy. And that's what they're looking for now.

0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:18.080
<v Speaker 2>They want those interest rates down, and Jerome Pale should

0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.760
<v Speaker 2>do that. The President has leaned in for a reason,

0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:22.920
<v Speaker 2>and that's to keep those promises that he made. We're

0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:27.120
<v Speaker 2>going to continue to see over time those numbers go up.

0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:30.120
<v Speaker 2>But what we've seen federal jobs have been down. That's

0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:33.039
<v Speaker 2>what the President promise. We've seen local economy. We've seen

0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:35.200
<v Speaker 2>eighty four percent of the job growth has been in

0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:38.240
<v Speaker 2>the private sector. Why because the President has said that

0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:41.240
<v Speaker 2>he is investing in the American worker first. That's what

0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:44.760
<v Speaker 2>we're all about. I want these workers trained. We're seeing

0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.320
<v Speaker 2>it in AI. We're leaning in with our federal and

0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:50.520
<v Speaker 2>state partners together to say, let us give you the

0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:53.640
<v Speaker 2>workers that you need for market demands and your respective states.

0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:56.719
<v Speaker 2>I think that that's the focus that needs to be well.

0:04:56.720 --> 0:04:59.840
<v Speaker 1>Secretary, I want to talk about some specific industries here.

0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:02.800
<v Speaker 1>One of the interesting stats out of this numbers report

0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:06.000
<v Speaker 1>that is that without healthcare, actually the last three months

0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:08.440
<v Speaker 1>of payroll gains, it would have been negative in May,

0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:11.159
<v Speaker 1>negative in June, and negative in July. And then you

0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:14.800
<v Speaker 1>take a look at manufacturing shedding another eleven thousand jobs.

0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:17.160
<v Speaker 1>You take a look at the six months change shedding

0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:21.400
<v Speaker 1>twenty eight thousand jobs. What are the specific policies that

0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:25.200
<v Speaker 1>the administration has and is putting in place to revive

0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:27.880
<v Speaker 1>the manufacturing sector, because so far it looks like it's

0:05:27.920 --> 0:05:29.040
<v Speaker 1>continuing to shrink.

0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:32.320
<v Speaker 2>Well, I think that that's probably what we just talked about.

0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:35.200
<v Speaker 2>Those trade deals are now coming online again. I was

0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:38.440
<v Speaker 2>just in Japan last week with the Secretary of Treasury

0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:41.000
<v Speaker 2>and that trade deal came in. We see the European

0:05:41.160 --> 0:05:43.680
<v Speaker 2>Union has come in. We're seeing other countries as well.

0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:46.280
<v Speaker 2>It's that certainty that we have to give businesses that

0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:48.479
<v Speaker 2>that is being done, and then as well that they're

0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:50.479
<v Speaker 2>going to have the workforce. So what do we have

0:05:50.520 --> 0:05:52.880
<v Speaker 2>to do. I'm working with the Department of Education. I

0:05:52.920 --> 0:05:56.520
<v Speaker 2>am working to skill those that workforce. We're working with

0:05:56.560 --> 0:06:01.240
<v Speaker 2>our community colleges, our technical schools. Businesses are investing in

0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:04.479
<v Speaker 2>centers of excellence. They just need a quarter turn for

0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:07.520
<v Speaker 2>those workers to be trained and ready to go. One

0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:10.040
<v Speaker 2>of those ways is executive orders to work with our

0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:12.560
<v Speaker 2>state partners in order to get them trained and really

0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:14.719
<v Speaker 2>lean in and have them right there on the ground.

0:06:14.880 --> 0:06:17.679
<v Speaker 2>So when you see the uncertainty or the numbers drop

0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:20.360
<v Speaker 2>over time, it's a snapshot in time. It doesn't make

0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:23.800
<v Speaker 2>a trend. We're seeing it over time. The President has

0:06:23.839 --> 0:06:26.760
<v Speaker 2>this right. The American business owner is believing in what

0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.200
<v Speaker 2>they see and now with this one big beautiful bill,

0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:31.359
<v Speaker 2>and if interest rates drop. I think that you're going

0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:34.279
<v Speaker 2>to see more and more investments. I really couldn't be

0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:37.360
<v Speaker 2>more clear. When I'm talking to these business owners on

0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:40.200
<v Speaker 2>the ground. I've visited twenty states. They are all excited.

0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:42.960
<v Speaker 2>They all understand their marching orders now, and that's to

0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:45.160
<v Speaker 2>invest in the American worker. And we're going to continue

0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:46.480
<v Speaker 2>to double down and do just that.

0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:48.160
<v Speaker 3>Well, it does look like we're going to see interest

0:06:48.240 --> 0:06:50.719
<v Speaker 3>rates cut at the next meeting, at least the market

0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:53.280
<v Speaker 3>is pricing that in Madam Secretary, and we're looking at

0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:57.360
<v Speaker 3>rates drop really across the curve today. The ten year

0:06:57.720 --> 0:07:03.240
<v Speaker 3>down around four twenty five is relatively low. With that

0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:07.640
<v Speaker 3>backdrop and the tax policy of the One Big Beautiful Bill,

0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:11.840
<v Speaker 3>and the deregulation that this administration has promised, what kind

0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:14.600
<v Speaker 3>of jobs growth do you expect us to get back

0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:15.480
<v Speaker 3>to this year.

0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:19.120
<v Speaker 2>Well, I'm making the assumption that with all of those

0:07:19.160 --> 0:07:22.120
<v Speaker 2>being in play, when I think about the deregulatory framework

0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:24.480
<v Speaker 2>that the President also has asked us to do, the

0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:28.800
<v Speaker 2>Department of Labor has just issued sixty three deregulatory actions

0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:33.280
<v Speaker 2>in Trump administration, one thirty deregulatory actions were done over

0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:35.680
<v Speaker 2>the four years. We've already done sixty three in the

0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:37.600
<v Speaker 2>first six months, and we're going to be looking to

0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:40.240
<v Speaker 2>our companies to weigh in on this, because what does

0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:45.240
<v Speaker 2>the President want, modernization, streamlining, cost cutting. He wants to

0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:48.360
<v Speaker 2>be an ally for the American workforce, not an adversary.

0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:51.240
<v Speaker 2>And for far too long, you know, the Department of

0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:53.560
<v Speaker 2>Labor or any other agency has not said, we're going

0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:55.880
<v Speaker 2>to be your partners. So we will continue to go

0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:58.200
<v Speaker 2>around the country. We will continue to lean in on

0:07:58.280 --> 0:08:01.920
<v Speaker 2>interest rates, on investments from companies on the worker because

0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:04.200
<v Speaker 2>we want to keep more money in their pockets. And

0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:07.400
<v Speaker 2>we're seeing that consumer confidence. Wage growth is up, so

0:08:07.720 --> 0:08:10.040
<v Speaker 2>there's a lot of positive here. We'd like to see

0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:12.120
<v Speaker 2>better numbers, but we're going to continue to double down

0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:13.400
<v Speaker 2>so those numbers continue to grow.

0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:16.000
<v Speaker 1>All right, Secretary, have to leave it there. Really appreciate

0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:19.320
<v Speaker 1>your time this morning. That is Labor Secretary Lori Chavez

0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:19.880
<v Speaker 1>de Rimer