Strong US Job Market Sparks Trump's Pressure for Rate Cuts

[Anchor]

The U.S. employment market indicators for last month turned out to be much better than expected. President Trump repeatedly pressured the Federal Reserve, stating, "Since the economic situation is good, interest rates should be lowered."

Correspondent Kim Hyunwoo reports from New York.

[Reporter]

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that non-farm payrolls increased by 162,000 last month compared to the previous month.

This is the largest increase since March and about three times the number experts expected.

The unemployment rate stood at 4.1%, similar to the previous month.

Additionally, the employment figures for July, which were previously announced as a decrease of 23,000, were revised upward to an increase of 21,000.

[Interview / Lani Golden / Economics Professor, University of Pennsylvania : Both the labor market and the economy overall look very healthy. More jobs were created last month than were generated over the past few months.]

As employment indicators came in better than expected, expectations are gaining ground that the Federal Reserve, concerned about economic overheating, could raise benchmark interest rates this month.

In fact, amid concerns over a rate hike, the three major New York stock indices all declined overnight.

In response, President Trump posted on his social media that great employment figures had been released and that since America's credit is better than before, interest rates should be cut.

He repeatedly pressured the Federal Reserve, stating that if interest rates are not lowered, the U.S. will halt trade with countries with which it runs trade deficits.

[Interview / Kevin Hassett / Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers : Just because the economy has grown does not mean the Federal Reserve must raise interest rates. What the Fed should actually pay attention to is inflation, and it must accurately understand the reasons for the growth.]

The New York Times evaluated that if President Trump carries out his remarks, it would be a powerful ultimatum that could deal a major blow to the economy.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
Reported by Lee Hee-hoon | Video edited by Jung Yong-hwa
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.