Trump’s Tariffs Strangle U.S. Job Market: Companies Freeze Hiring and Cut Staff

The U.S. labor market has hit a wall in 2025. Job growth has slowed to a crawl as companies facing trade barriers scale back hiring — and in some cases begin layoffs. Business leaders and executives point to one culprit: Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policy, which is driving up costs and choking expansion plans.

Manufacturing and Energy Under Pressure The hardest-hit sectors are the very ones Trump promised to revive — manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and energy. Julie Robbins, CEO of EarthQuaker Devices in Ohio, put it bluntly: “Tariffs are like unexpected taxes. They slow production and suffocate growth. Instead of hiring, we’ve had to freeze recruitment altogether.” Her guitar pedal company would normally be expanding its 35-person team with three to four new hires. Since tariffs were introduced, however, hiring has been halted.

Economy Losing Steam The August jobs report showed just 22,000 new positions created across the U.S. economy — a dramatic slowdown. 🔹 Manufacturing lost 12,000 jobs

🔹 Energy and mining (oil and gas) shed 6,000 jobs

🔹 Wholesale trade cut 32,000 positions John Deere estimates that tariffs have already cost the company $300 million this year, a figure likely to double by year’s end.

Fed and Powell Respond Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested that slowing job growth may ironically help ease the inflationary pressures of tariffs. Economists now expect the Fed to deliver its first interest rate cut of 2025 as early as next week.

White House Pushes Back The Trump administration, however, insists tariffs are boosting U.S. industry. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: “For every John Deere, there are plenty of companies telling us tariffs have helped their business, increased capital spending, and led to new hiring plans.” Yet business owners tell a different story. Traci Tapani, CEO of Wyoming Machine, explained her strategy: “With tariffs shifting constantly, we no longer even replace departing employees. The environment is simply too unstable.”

Job Market at a Breaking Point The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that labor market weakness predates Trump’s tenure. Compared to March last year, there are 1 million fewer jobs available today. But the reality remains: the very sectors tariffs were supposed to revive are now the most severely damaged. With firms freezing hiring and scaling back operations, fears are growing that the U.S. labor market could face even tougher times ahead.

#TRUMP , #Tariffs , #Powell , #Fed , #worldnews

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