Democrats struggled to spin Friday’s massive job growth number as bad news for the economy, in what has become a monthly routine under President Donald Trump.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added 312,000 new jobs in December — nearly twice what Wall Street analysts had expected.
In response, Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez blasted Trump for increasing economic “volatility.”
Ryan Struyk✔@ryanstruyk
DNC statement from Tom Perez on new stronger-than-expected jobs numbers out today: "Thanks to Trump, volatility in the federal government is translating into volatility across our economy."
Newly-installed Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said that despite “positive” news about jobs, the president was threatening the economy because of the government shutdown. She reiterated that the border wall was “immoral”:
The December jobs statement contains some positive news, yet these gains threaten to slip away because of the Trump Shutdown. A staggering 800,000 hard-working Americans are at risk of losing their paychecks, because the President insists on senselessly holding the American people hostage to his unpopular, ineffective, immoral and expensive border wall.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) struggled, similarly, to put the worst face possible on the news. He acknowledged that the jobs report was “encouraging,” but said “the economy shows unsure signs of its direction.”
Hoyer added: “The Trump Administration’s poorly thought-out economic policies are taking a toll on small businesses, farmers, and working families.” The majority leader offered no evidence to support his claim.
In the past, Democrats have made similar efforts to turn good jobs reports into bad ones. In September, Pelosi trashed a jobs report that analysts called the “greatest of all time,” warning of “stagnant real wage growth for workers.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that wages grew 0.4% in December, more than the 0.3% expected.