President Trump’s Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer spoke on CNN about the U.S. economy, answering questions from John Berman that focused on American jobs, a self-professed priority of the administration. [Note: July job numbers out of the nonpartisan U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) were so alarming to the administration that the President said they were “rigged” and fired BLS Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer.]
Investors get U.S. jobs data from other sources also, including the private payroll company ADP. Talking with Chavez-DeRemer, Berman said, “in the private sector jobs from ADP — not great, right?”
Berman added, “and if you look at the employment reports going back to the spring, here, not great either.” He then read the job numbers from May (19,000), June (13,000), July (76,000), August (22,000). He added, “Pretty slow growth there. Why are jobs lagging?”
[NOTE: The ADP’s National Employment Report, published October 1, showed private employers down 32,000 jobs during September. The ADP figures are getting extra attention as the government shutdown will likely prevent the timely release of the next BLS jobs report.]
Chavez-DeRemer replied: “Well certainly, what we inherited from the Biden administration, we have been working hard in the administration with the President putting the American worker first.”
Berman responded, “You said there was momentum (to job growth) but construction job openings fell in August by the second most in history, the hiring rate the lowest since 2013 outside of Covid, private sector payroll plunged in September…again, and that’s just in the last few months, six months into the Trump administration. Why is it heading in the wrong direction?”
BERMAN: The private sector jobs from ADP — not great. And if you at the jobs reports going back to the spring, not great either. Why are jobs lagging?
LORI CHAVEZ-DeREMER: Well certainly, what we inherited from the Biden administration
BERMAN: But why is it headed in the wrong… pic.twitter.com/pWfvOxy9NX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 3, 2025
Chavez-DeRemer replied: “Well again, all indicators, we have the strongest economy in the world,” to which Berman interrupted and asked, “Do we have the strongest job economy in the world? Do we have the strongest job economy compared to last year, when there were hundreds of thousands of jobs added each month?”
Chavez-DeRemer replied, “Absolutely, because we saw those revisions under the Biden administration. That’s why this President has called on the modernization and streamlining of BLS…we need modern information, we need to have accurate information.”
Chavez-DeRemer’s attempt to devalue published jobs reports and to repeatedly blame the Biden administration for the data didn’t satisfy Berman, and are being slammed on social media.
One commenter replied with a link to The Wall Street Journal article (published in October 2024) titled ‘The Next President Inherits a Remarkable Economy,’ with the subtitle: “The high quality of recent economic growth should put a wind at the back of the White House’s next occupant.”
Note: Greg Ip, the chief economics commentator at WSJ who wrote that article a year ago, today published the article titled ‘Behind Job Weakness Are Hints of a Productivity Revival. Is AI the Reason?’ It begins: “The economy is either booming or on the brink of recession. Honestly, you could make the case for either.”