Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council, attributed the U.S. economy's loss of 23,000 jobs in July to government employment declines and the conclusion of a major international sporting event.
Hassett, President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, made the assessment on Fox News. The reported decline came as economists had projected a gain of 83,000 jobs for the month.
"One is there was a big decline in, uh, government employment, uh, which is partly because of DOGE and partly because there was so much snow over the winter that there were extra school days at the end of the year," Hassett said. "And so the normal time when teachers would take the summer off was June, but a lot of them got pushed into July and so then they show up as a layoff in July."
He added: "And, uh, the end of the World Cup meant that a lot of hospitality workers, uh, were then laid off after the World Cup ended."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 50,000 job reduction in local government education during July. The bureau noted little change in leisure and hospitality, which would include workers affected by the World Cup's end.
Bill Adams, chief U.S. economist at Fifth Third Commercial Bank, acknowledged the role of government employment decline in the weaker job numbers. He attributed this to the timing of the school calendar, not snow days, and characterized the situation as a "wonky seasonal adjustment fluke," noting the difficulty the Bureau of Labor Statistics faces in adjusting K-12 job measurements for large annual summer swings.
Despite the job losses, the unemployment rate in July dipped from 4.2 percent to 4.1 percent. This marks the 58th consecutive month the unemployment rate has remained below 4.5 percent.
The Labor Department also revised its jobs figures for May and June downward by a combined 103,000.
Hassett maintained a positive outlook on the economy. "The momentum in the economy continues to be strong," he stated, pointing to rising durable goods orders and capital spending as evidence. He also highlighted low initial claims for unemployment insurance, which are near their lowest levels since World War II.
Hassett described the July jobs report as "dissonant with everything else that we're seeing." A White House spokesperson said: "The Trump industrial resurgence is on schedule. Manufacturing and factory construction jobs grew again in July even as government payrolls continued to significantly shrink. Unemployment claims are at record lows."
