Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2: Well, we'd like to bring in the Labor Secretary now,
Speaker 2: Lori Chavez Durima. Thank you so much, Secretary for joining
Speaker 2: us as we are on the heels of this May
Speaker 2: report where the US added one hundred and thirty nine
Speaker 2: thousand jobs, beating estimates. But I would love to start
Speaker 2: with the decline in the size of the labor force
Speaker 2: down six hundred and twenty six thousand, largest drop since
Speaker 2: twenty twenty three. Is this because the administration has shut
Speaker 2: down immigration?
Speaker 1: Well, thank you Adm. Marie for having me. We are
Speaker 1: excited one hundred and thirty nine thousand new jobs and
Speaker 1: that President Trump, with his dedication and his leadership, really
Speaker 1: has beat expectations for the third month in a row.
Speaker 1: Our goal is to grow this economy and grow this workforce,
Speaker 1: and the President has done a wonderful job in accessing
Speaker 1: companies to invest in the workforce. We're seeing it across
Speaker 1: the country. So while jobs are continuing to grow, and
Speaker 1: we might see a due case at the federal level,
Speaker 1: which is another great thing that we've seen twenty two
Speaker 1: thousand jobs leave the federal public workforce, and we're seeing
Speaker 1: it at the local level. So there's a lot to
Speaker 1: look forward to. There's a lot that we're excited about,
Speaker 1: and we couldn't be more excited for this economy and
Speaker 1: this third month in a row of a growing jobs report.
Speaker 2: What do you think is behind the drop and the
Speaker 2: size of the labor force.
Speaker 1: Well, what we want is to grow that labor force.
Speaker 1: We're seeing increases in construction jobs. We're seeing increases in
Speaker 1: transportation and healthcare, while the manufacturing sector is holding steady.
Speaker 1: What we're excited about is the focus that the President
Speaker 1: has on this skilled workforce. Again, my part of this
Speaker 1: equation is to grow that workforce. And as we transition
Speaker 1: through this process of on shoring, and the President has
Speaker 1: done a wonderful job in negotiating some of these tariff talks,
Speaker 1: tens of trillions of dollars are being invested. This workforce
Speaker 1: is going to continue to grow.
Speaker 2: The unemployment rate remain steady. A lot of economists will
Speaker 2: point to the fact that potentially it's for the wrong reasons,
Speaker 2: not because jobs are plentiful, but because workers are dropping out.
Speaker 2: Are you concerned that too many workers are dropping out,
Speaker 2: especially in some of these areas that are mostly filled
Speaker 2: with immigrants.
Speaker 1: Well, certainly, what we have seen in the last few
Speaker 1: months is that native born Americans are the ones where
Speaker 1: the job growth is happening. That's exciting for the American people.
Speaker 1: We want to make sure that we're protecting the American
Speaker 1: worker first, and we want that labor participation rate to
Speaker 1: go up. I will tell you unemployment is holding steady.
Speaker 1: That is a good thing for the American economy. We'll
Speaker 1: continue to focus on that. As the President's executive order
Speaker 1: with one million apprentices across the nation and also through
Speaker 1: an executive order that we're going to have the skilled
Speaker 1: workforce with AI I'm telling you and I'm confident that
Speaker 1: that workforce is going to continue to grow, and we're
Speaker 1: going to see these numbers continue to climb and unemployer
Speaker 1: rate continue to drop.
Speaker 2: Do foresee wage pressures potentially re emerging to fill jobs
Speaker 2: if there are fewer immigrants coming to the United States,
Speaker 2: which is a policy of this administration.
Speaker 1: Well, I can tell you right now that wage growth
Speaker 1: hourly wage growth is up almost four percent. That's great
Speaker 1: for the American people. More money in their pockets. And
Speaker 1: with this one big, beautiful bill that the President is
Speaker 1: focused on, we are going to see no tax on tips,
Speaker 1: no tax on over time. Do you know what that
Speaker 1: does for a family of four who possibly can put
Speaker 1: more money in their pocket. I can tell you this,
Speaker 1: one big beautiful bill equals one big beautiful workforce. That's
Speaker 1: what I'm focused on, and I'm going to continue to
Speaker 1: work hard, get around this country and deliver for the
Speaker 1: American people what the President promised them that he would do.
Speaker 2: I guess my question though, is if we have wage
Speaker 2: pressures re emerging, is there potentially a cycle where we
Speaker 2: can see higher inflation makes it harder for things like
Speaker 2: the Federal Reserve to step in and potentially cut interest rates.
Speaker 1: Well, certainly, the President again is laser folks on growing
Speaker 1: the workforce. We're seeing unemployment hold study. It's been holding
Speaker 1: steady for you know, really running between four point zero
Speaker 1: and four point two percent over the last year. That's
Speaker 1: exciting for the American people. We are not seeing unemployment
Speaker 1: tick up, We're seeing ourgely wage growth go up. That's
Speaker 1: again good for them. I'll be working with the President
Speaker 1: on this to make sure that we can continue to
Speaker 1: hold study and grow this economy.
Speaker 2: The President posted on social media that America is quote hot,
Speaker 2: and he said six months ago it was ice cold.
Speaker 2: But six months ago, I'm looking at the non farm
Speaker 2: payroll numbers from six months ago, we were at three
Speaker 2: hundred and twenty three thousand and an unemployment rate even
Speaker 2: lower than we are today, a four point one percent.
Speaker 2: That is what arguably many people would call a hot
Speaker 2: labor market. What is he the President talking about, when
Speaker 2: he says we weren't we weren't hot.
Speaker 1: Well. Under the last administration, we saw, for instance, manufacturing
Speaker 1: jobs take a tank over the last twenty years. That
Speaker 1: is what the President is bringing back, hard working blue
Speaker 1: collar Americans, where he's bringing labor and business together to
Speaker 1: grow the economy for the everyday average American. That's where
Speaker 1: the change and the focus has been. And so the
Speaker 1: labor market is growing steady, and he's correct, it is hot,
Speaker 1: and it is better than what we had in the
Speaker 1: past administration one hundred percent.
Speaker 2: But manufacturing peril numbers dropped eight thousand for the month
Speaker 2: of May.
Speaker 1: But compared to the Biden administration, they've grown, they have
Speaker 1: continued to hold steady. That is the difference. When he
Speaker 1: stays laser focused on the American people and the American worker.
Speaker 1: I'm telling you as I go around this country and
Speaker 1: I visit the excitement in the labor force and in
Speaker 1: the participation rate. We're seeing that increase. Students, young people,
Speaker 1: they're excited to get back into the labor market. So
Speaker 1: it's going to take some time, but I can tell
Speaker 1: you if we stay focused on the American people, I
Speaker 1: don't make a decision at the Department of Labor unless
Speaker 1: I know it's going to benefit the American worker.
Speaker 2: First, you mentioned federal workers and those employment numbers dropping off.
Speaker 2: When you think about DOGE working inside the labor force,
Speaker 2: has it changed given the fact that Elon Musk has
Speaker 2: now left the administration and also given the fact that
Speaker 2: he's having this pretty massive breakup with the President of
Speaker 2: United States on social media.
Speaker 1: Well, the focus of DOGE was a government efficiency. Again,
Speaker 1: that's what the President promised the American people that he
Speaker 1: was going to save them their hard earned tax dollars. Again,
Speaker 1: the focus is to make sure that we're being efficient
Speaker 1: with their tax dollars and still growing the economy. Listen,
Speaker 1: we can have distractions all day long. This Job's report
Speaker 1: of one hundred and thirty nine thousand new jobs, I
Speaker 1: think is the primary focus today because that is what
Speaker 1: matters to the everyday workers who get up every morning
Speaker 1: and understand that the president has their best interests at heart.
Speaker 2: So, even with Elon Musk not at the helm and
Speaker 2: also having this implosion with President Trump, do you still
Speaker 2: see DOGE working even inside the Labor Department?
Speaker 1: Well, government efficiency I think is key, and I think
Speaker 1: for every secretary of every agency, we're going to continue
Speaker 1: to doge our own agencies because again, for the American people,
Speaker 1: they want to understand that we have their hard earned
Speaker 1: tax dollars, that we're spending it wisely and we're saving
Speaker 1: them dollars where there's inefficiencies. And I'll continue to focus
Speaker 1: on doging my own agency to make sure that we're
Speaker 1: saving the American tax dollars.
Speaker 2: But we look forward to hearing about those number secretary.
Speaker 2: Just finally, the President has taken to social media again
Speaker 2: this morning and he's saying, too late, the FED is
Speaker 2: a disaster. He's looking at what Jay Powell's doing, comparing
Speaker 2: it to Europe, which is already cut interest rates a
Speaker 2: number of times, and he says, despite them, though our
Speaker 2: country is still doing great, why would the Federal Reserve
Speaker 2: need to be cutting interest rates when you're telling us
Speaker 2: that this is a really fantastic and healthy wabor market.
Speaker 1: Well, that's the focus, right, and sometimes you gotta have
Speaker 1: the stools stand on several different legs. The President does
Speaker 1: a wonderful job at negotiations. The President will have a
Speaker 1: conversation with the Treasury Secretary and he will determine when
Speaker 1: it's time to put the pressure on to lower those
Speaker 1: interest rates to make sure that we're still adding to
Speaker 1: the American economy and protecting the American worker.
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for joining US. Labor Secretary Lori shav
Speaker 2: As Derma