'Unbelievable': Trump Hits Out At Fed Chair Powell After Weakest US Job Growth In Over Two Years
Trump has repeatedly called on the US Federal Reserve to cut rates even as the economy faces shocks from his tariff and immigration policies.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again prodded Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates after data showed employment growth decelerated to the slowest pace in two years.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said: "ADP NUMBER OUT!!! “Too Late” Powell must now LOWER THE RATE. He is unbelievable!!! Europe has lowered NINE TIMES! (sic)".
The president has repeatedly called on Powell and the Fed to cut interest rates even as the US economy faces shocks from his tariff and immigration policies.
Private-sector payrolls in the US increased by 37,000 last month, according to ADP Research, lower than all estimates in a survey of economists, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. That marked the second month in a row when the figures were well below expectations.
Sectors including business services, and education and health shed jobs, pointing to a weakened demand for workers. Economists anticipate the US labour market will show more signs of cooling in the coming months.
The Federal Reserve's rate setting committee is scheduled to meet on June 17-18 and announce the monetary policy decision.
The central bank kept interest rate steady at 4.25-4.5% range in its May meeting for the third time in a row, highlighting the uncertainty over the health of the US economy from the tariff wars sparked by Trump.
Powell had then said the risks of higher unemployment and inflation have risen, and the current policy stance leaves the Fed “well positioned” to address economic developments “in a timely way".
The Fed chair said the effect of tariff hikes on the US economy remains highly uncertain but if the announced increases were to be sustained, that would impact inflation, growth and employment. Notably, the March Fed dot plot signalled two rate cuts in 2025.
In his latest salvo against Powell, Trump also pointed to interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank.
The ECB is expected to cut rates on Thursday by 25 basis points to 2% — half of the mid-2023 high of 4%.
