Trump administration official Kevin Hassett declared the latest jobs report as a “present to the American people” for Labor Day. Really, Kevin? Let’s dig into this claim by looking closely at the labor data. What you’ll find is that more Americans than ever are dislocated from the full-time employment picture in this country, and that this administration has zero idea how to fix it. And they’re not even trying. But, sure. Happy Labor Day, America. Enjoy the weekend worrying about how to pay your bills.

Resources

Bloomberg Television: NEC’s Hassett Says Inflation Is Under Control

Vox: The Trump administration’s “cubic model” of coronavirus deaths, explained

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: Labor Force Participation Rate

NBC News: Trump’s new Fed chair walks fine line on inflation in key speech

Bureau of Labor Statistics: The Employment Situation — August 2026

ADP Research: National Employment Report

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: All Employees, Manufacturing

Peterson-KFF Health Systems Tracker: What are the recent trends in employer-based health coverage?

KFF: Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance 101

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Frequently asked questions about data on contingent and alternative employment arrangements (May 2017)

Bloomberg: Fewer Americans are Working or Looking for a Job. Experts Can’t Agree on Why

PBS News: What the July jobs report reveals about the strength of the economy

United States Census Bureau: Monthly Construction Spending, July 2026

UNFTR Resources

Video: The Jobs Report Is A Scam: Here’s Why

Episode: Merchants of Death.

Essay: Labor Daze.

--

If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

Become a member at unftr.com/memberships.

Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com.

Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations.

Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility