According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the private sector lost jobs in February. Meanwhile, the numbers for January and December were revised downward.
Economist Rachel Greszler of Advancing American Freedom says things have been in bad shape.
"Over the past year, we've seen only 156,000 jobs in total created," she tells AFN. "Normally, kind of a hold-steady labor market would see about a million new jobs created."
She explains that tariffs have created fluctuations and uncertainty for businesses, making it harder for them to make investments. Some have pulled back on planned expansions or just paused everything.
"The tariffs are definitely weighing down on the economy," Greszler summarizes.
President Donald Trump and members of his administration disagree. They argue that tariffs have benefited citizens and the country. U.S. Sec. of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRember says recent events are to blame for February's numbers.
"While record-breaking strikes and bad winter weather dragged down February nonfarm employment, the unemployment rate held steady, and there are several positive signs for our economy that continue to show American workers are recovering from the mess left behind by Biden," Chavez-DeRemer said in an official statement.
According to the labor secretary, Trump has "successfully reignited wage growth," which continued to accelerate in February.
"Factory workers' wages in particular have improved from an $830 loss to an impressive $2,400 gain under the Trump administration," she said. "Additionally, while federal employment has hit its lowest level on record, private sector job growth rose by half a million during the President's first year in office and 60,000 jobs have been created already this year."
As wages continue to outpace inflation, and as the Working Families Tax Cuts help employers and job creators keep even more of their hard-earned money, Chavez-DeRemer said she is optimistic that job growth will continue as "we undo the Biden-era catastrophe" of increasing prices and stagnant wages.
Greszler agrees that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act does feature some pro-growth tax cuts and "really promising things" on the energy side.
"Even with that positive momentum, we're still seeing very little job growth at all," she continues. "I think that the tariffs are the dominant factor here weakening the labor market."
The Supreme Court has provided some clarity on some of the tariffs, so, Greszler says, "We can hope that maybe that will give a little more certainty."
