SHOCKING Jobs Confession From Trump’s Economic Adviser

Yellow sign reads bad news in sky — BAD NEWS ALERT

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett just admitted Americans should brace for disappointing job numbers, blaming immigration enforcement and productivity gains while the labor market shows alarming signs of weakness.

Story Snapshot

White House is preemptively lowering job growth expectations ahead of the February 11 employment report
January saw only 22,000 private sector jobs added, while layoff announcements doubled to 108,000
Administration links weak hiring to illegal immigrants leaving the country, framing it as a positive policy outcome
Consumer anxiety about job loss reached historic levels not seen since 1997, when tracking began
2025 marked the worst year for job growth outside a recession in decades, with unemployment rising from 4.0% to 4.4%

White House Manages Expectations Before Jobs Report

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, announced on February 9, 2026, that Americans should expect smaller job growth figures in the coming months despite strong GDP performance. Speaking on CNBC just two days before the Labor Department’s delayed January employment report, Hassett attributed the anticipated weakness to declining population and productivity gains.

He specifically connected lower job numbers to illegal immigrants leaving the country, positioning immigration enforcement as a factor reducing labor force participation. Economists surveyed by Reuters project only 70,000 jobs added in January, following December’s meager 50,000 gain.

Troubling Labor Market Indicators Multiply

The data preceding Hassett’s statement reveal genuine labor market distress beyond administration spin. ADP reported private firms added just 22,000 jobs in January, described as tepid growth by any measure. Challenger, Gray ,and Christmas documented companies announcing over 108,000 layoff plans in January alone, more than double the cuts from January 2025.

Jobless claims spiked in the week before Hassett’s announcement, while job openings plummeted according to multiple tracking firms. These indicators contradict the narrative that weak hiring simply reflects productivity excellence rather than economic deterioration.

Historic Job Growth Weakness Continues

The current weakness extends a pattern established throughout 2025, which economists project will be the worst year for job growth outside a recession in decades. Annual benchmark revisions are expected to subtract 911,000 jobs from 2025 figures, potentially turning annual job growth negative.

Unemployment climbed from 4.0% to 4.4% over 2025, while the share of workers unemployed for six months or more tied pre-2009 recession records. Youth unemployment for ages 16-24 has remained above 10% and rising for six consecutive months. The Roosevelt Institute characterizes the labor market as transitioning to a “low-hire, low-fire” environment with weak hiring and rising job losses.

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Consumer Anxiety Reaches Historic Levels

Americans are expressing unprecedented concern about employment security despite administration assurances. The Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey, tracking job loss anxiety since 1997, recorded November 2025 as only the third month in nearly three decades when consumers felt more afraid of job loss than at that time.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York surveys show deteriorating consumer expectations regarding wage growth and finding new work. Polls indicate President Trump is 14 percentage points underwater on handling jobs and the economy, reflecting widespread public skepticism about official economic messaging.

Productivity Gains Mask Worker Struggles

RSM US Chief Economist Joe Brusuelas identified the political problem with Hassett’s productivity argument: while firms doing more with less pleases economists and capital markets professionals, it creates hell for politicians and the public. Strong GDP growth alongside weak employment creates a disconnect where economic output rises but income generation through jobs stagnates.

This dynamic benefits capital while straining workers who face limited opportunities and wage stagnation. Job growth projections show employment gains narrowly concentrated in health and education services, leaving workers in other sectors with diminishing prospects for stable employment.

Immigration Enforcement Impact Disputed

Hassett’s explicit connection between labor force decline and illegal immigrants departing represents a distinctive attempt to reframe weakness as policy success. The administration argues immigration crackdowns reduce labor supply, making lower job growth mathematically inevitable rather than economically concerning.

However, independent analyses do not verify immigration enforcement as the primary driver of labor force changes. The Roosevelt Institute mentions immigration crackdowns creating economic shocks but does not isolate immigration’s specific impact on participation rates, leaving Hassett’s causal claim unsubstantiated by independent economic research.