WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.640 Secretary, thank you so much for your time, uh, so we just got the data, I've 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:05.659 been digesting over the past 30 minutes. 00:00:05.660 --> 00:00:10.279 The jobs number came in higher than expected at 275, 000 jobs, but the 00:00:10.280 --> 00:00:13.350 unemployment rate ticked higher to 3. 00:00:13.350 --> 00:00:13.599 9%. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:15.699 Can you explain that divergence to us? 00:00:16.829 --> 00:00:17.399 That's right. 00:00:17.460 --> 00:00:20.930 So the jobs numbers continue to be very strong. 00:00:21.230 --> 00:00:24.320 The three month average is actually 265, 000. 00:00:24.330 --> 00:00:27.360 So, you know, we look at trends as much as we look at monthly numbers. 00:00:27.820 --> 00:00:34.199 And on that, the unemployment rate remains under 4 percent for over two years now, 00:00:34.210 --> 00:00:37.470 that's the longest stretch in 50 years. 00:00:37.480 --> 00:00:42.200 So as the president noted yesterday, uh, last night, the 00:00:42.220 --> 00:00:44.910 economy remains, um, strong. 00:00:44.940 --> 00:00:46.010 The union remains strong. 00:00:46.019 --> 00:00:48.519 We're moving things in the right direction, and we have more work 00:00:48.519 --> 00:00:49.810 to do, and we'll continue to do it 00:00:51.139 --> 00:00:51.430 right. 00:00:51.430 --> 00:00:54.760 But we've had revisions as well, and that's going to be tempering 00:00:54.769 --> 00:00:56.290 some of this hot labor market. 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:01.309 So revisions were down for January by 124, 000 jobs. 00:01:01.369 --> 00:01:06.335 So is this job market not as strong as you were Expecting and anticipating? 00:01:07.245 --> 00:01:11.315 No, I mean, the job market is stronger than anyone really predicted. 00:01:11.375 --> 00:01:15.295 You know, again, let's go back to, uh, you know, when the president first came 00:01:15.295 --> 00:01:20.005 into office and all predictions were of, you know, recession and crisis and crash. 00:01:20.295 --> 00:01:21.734 None of that has materialized. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:23.390 That doesn't happen by accident. 00:01:23.420 --> 00:01:27.550 It happens through leadership and strong economic policies and, uh, you know, 00:01:27.570 --> 00:01:29.140 we're seeing that month over month. 00:01:29.340 --> 00:01:32.020 The revisions are a feature of the numbers. 00:01:32.020 --> 00:01:36.090 You know, we put out numbers every month, uh, so that we can have a 00:01:36.090 --> 00:01:39.340 picture that, uh, that tells us what's going on in the economy. 00:01:39.609 --> 00:01:43.070 And then we revise them to, uh, to make sure that they're accurate. 00:01:43.350 --> 00:01:46.800 And That's why we look at again, not just what happens each month, but over time. 00:01:46.810 --> 00:01:52.380 And our over time figures demonstrate strong, steady, continued growth, 00:01:52.409 --> 00:01:53.739 exactly what we want to see. 00:01:53.940 --> 00:01:56.420 It feels like the very definition of a soft landing. 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:00.029 Well, when you look at the manufacturing space, this report, we 00:02:00.029 --> 00:02:03.760 have manufacturing jobs coming in at negative 4, 000 computer electronics 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:07.820 and manufacturing coming in at negative 1700 and semiconductors, negative 700. 00:02:07.820 --> 00:02:11.180 President Biden last night was touting manufacturing jobs, but when 00:02:11.180 --> 00:02:12.420 you look at the manufacturing space. 00:02:12.750 --> 00:02:15.290 When he last spoke at the State of the Union, he's only added about 00:02:15.300 --> 00:02:17.750 70, 000 in that manufacturing space. 00:02:17.810 --> 00:02:20.700 Do you think this shift towards more manufacturing in the United 00:02:20.700 --> 00:02:22.509 States is starting to stall? 00:02:23.640 --> 00:02:24.949 No, I don't think it's stalling at 00:02:24.950 --> 00:02:25.120 all. 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:26.759 I think it's just taking off. 00:02:27.049 --> 00:02:31.979 So, many of the investments that the President helped to get across 00:02:31.979 --> 00:02:35.759 the line with, uh, with Democrats in Congress are really just stalling. 00:02:35.910 --> 00:02:38.010 Coming to fruition now, right? 00:02:38.010 --> 00:02:41.840 They're, they're gonna, they're gonna hit the ground in 2020. 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:45.989 But then how do you explain the negative read on manufacturing jobs in this report? 00:02:46.870 --> 00:02:49.599 Well, again, overall, the manufacturing jobs are up. 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:52.600 It's up over 700, 000 since the president came into office. 00:02:52.920 --> 00:02:57.109 And he has been very clear that there's no reason why we can't 00:02:57.320 --> 00:02:58.790 make things in America, right? 00:02:58.790 --> 00:03:00.740 We invented semiconductors here. 00:03:00.910 --> 00:03:02.260 We're going to make them here. 00:03:02.290 --> 00:03:05.780 And so the, those Those factories have to be built. 00:03:05.829 --> 00:03:08.700 Those jobs, you know, are are still to come. 00:03:08.700 --> 00:03:14.240 But his vision for in America in which we can build things here resilient, 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:18.489 you know, make our supply chain more resilient and create good jobs, including 00:03:18.490 --> 00:03:20.359 good union jobs in all communities. 00:03:20.599 --> 00:03:22.869 That is what the monthly numbers show. 00:03:22.870 --> 00:03:24.980 It's definitely what the overall trends show 00:03:26.390 --> 00:03:28.239 when you look at where jobs were created. 00:03:28.399 --> 00:03:30.079 It's coming from the federal government. 00:03:30.100 --> 00:03:34.820 9, 000 state jobs, 5, 000 the local 38, 000. 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:39.129 Actually, we haven't seen a drop in government payrolls on a monthly 00:03:39.130 --> 00:03:41.690 report since August of 2022. 00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:45.849 Do you think the expansion of government is partly responsible? 00:03:46.040 --> 00:03:48.130 For keeping this labor market where it is 00:03:49.350 --> 00:03:53.420 well, so the job growth numbers are really much more broadly. 00:03:53.570 --> 00:03:56.410 It represents much broader industry change than that. 00:03:56.680 --> 00:03:59.210 We saw big changes in health care, right? 00:03:59.220 --> 00:04:01.170 Hospital jobs were high. 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:06.480 We saw an uptick in transportation, warehousing in social assistance. 00:04:07.450 --> 00:04:08.480 restaurants and bars. 00:04:08.490 --> 00:04:12.490 So it is a story both of private sector growth and of government growth. 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:15.010 Even if you take the government out, the total growth is of 00:04:15.020 --> 00:04:18.210 over 200, 000 this month just in the private sector jobs alone. 00:04:18.500 --> 00:04:22.119 So it is broad based recovery, which is again, you know, 00:04:22.130 --> 00:04:24.020 further sign of, of its strength. 00:04:24.029 --> 00:04:26.240 It isn't just one industry that's been driving this. 00:04:27.830 --> 00:04:31.300 Well, we also saw in this report, wage growth was cooler than expected. 00:04:31.370 --> 00:04:34.950 Um, uh, That's when it came in, and obviously we do know that, uh, 00:04:34.950 --> 00:04:37.770 even though there are some gains in the labor market, inflation 00:04:37.770 --> 00:04:40.640 continues to dog American consumers. 00:04:40.640 --> 00:04:44.469 This is something that Americans continue to say that this is something that 00:04:44.479 --> 00:04:48.299 continues to eat into their household gains, their discretionary spending. 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:51.280 How concerned are you about this cooling of wage growth? 00:04:52.280 --> 00:04:54.900 So this is work that continues, right? 00:04:54.900 --> 00:04:57.540 It's controlling, um, for prices. 00:04:57.540 --> 00:05:00.629 Again, inflation has been cut by something like two thirds. 00:05:00.980 --> 00:05:04.979 Um, and we want Americans to, you know, be able to obviously 00:05:04.980 --> 00:05:07.549 get some of that breathing room the president talks about now. 00:05:07.620 --> 00:05:11.480 Some of that is about making sure that, uh, real wages are going up. 00:05:11.500 --> 00:05:14.700 More wages in workers pockets is always going to be a good thing. 00:05:14.990 --> 00:05:19.700 And so, again, the average overall annual wage increase is still about, 00:05:19.740 --> 00:05:21.030 it's a little over four percent. 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:26.950 It exceeds inflation, which means that we can both have lower prices 00:05:26.970 --> 00:05:29.130 so that Americans feel less burdened. 00:05:29.224 --> 00:05:34.085 stressed about what they have to pay for basic things, but also higher wages, 00:05:34.094 --> 00:05:38.905 which is about, you know, making sure that people can have family sustaining jobs. 00:05:38.924 --> 00:05:44.205 And those two things go hand in hand, and they certainly go hand in hand under 00:05:44.255 --> 00:05:46.504 under President Biden's economic agenda. 00:05:46.724 --> 00:05:50.055 And we are again, Seeing all of those trends in that direction doesn't 00:05:50.055 --> 00:05:51.255 mean we don't have more work to do. 00:05:51.435 --> 00:05:52.065 We do. 00:05:52.115 --> 00:05:53.975 And, uh, but we're going to stay at it. 00:05:55.345 --> 00:05:58.315 So you think this cooling was potentially just a monthly blip? 00:06:00.005 --> 00:06:00.565 Well, I don't know. 00:06:00.645 --> 00:06:02.055 I, you know, I wouldn't call it cooling. 00:06:02.085 --> 00:06:05.015 Uh, you know, I think that, again, you look at overall the 00:06:05.015 --> 00:06:10.025 numbers, 275, 000 jobs created, unemployment rate remains under 4%. 00:06:10.265 --> 00:06:13.545 We are continuing to see real wage growth. 00:06:13.585 --> 00:06:16.375 Now the inflation numbers for this month are, have not come out yet. 00:06:16.395 --> 00:06:21.604 But all of those paint a picture of an economy that has recovered from 00:06:21.604 --> 00:06:26.344 the depths of the pandemic in which almost 15 million jobs created since 00:06:26.344 --> 00:06:27.705 the president came into office. 00:06:28.034 --> 00:06:32.794 And I think, you know, it's, it's, it's really just a good news story all around 00:06:33.094 --> 00:06:36.085 and the historic investments that the president has made possible, right? 00:06:36.085 --> 00:06:37.594 He has a vision for this country. 00:06:37.835 --> 00:06:39.794 It's not going to be built overnight, but we've seen it. 00:06:39.815 --> 00:06:43.405 We've certainly seen gains over the last three years, and we'll continue 00:06:43.445 --> 00:06:48.235 to, uh, uh, to see them as the policies that we've put into place 00:06:48.255 --> 00:06:50.265 really start to, uh, come to fruition. 00:06:50.275 --> 00:06:55.475 That's, you know, it's a story of, uh, of continuing improvement and progress 00:06:55.665 --> 00:06:57.054 and meeting the challenges that we face. 00:06:57.255 --> 00:06:58.995 Uh, across the country, 00:07:00.255 --> 00:07:03.035 I just want to ask you about something that happened at the U. 00:07:03.035 --> 00:07:03.385 S. 00:07:03.465 --> 00:07:06.185 Bureau of Labor Statistics, an email that was sent out to quote 00:07:06.185 --> 00:07:10.215 unquote super users about a measure of rental inflation was a mistake, 00:07:10.225 --> 00:07:11.934 according, according to the Bureau. 00:07:12.354 --> 00:07:15.545 Why are some people getting emails about inflation? 00:07:15.565 --> 00:07:16.414 Others are not. 00:07:16.425 --> 00:07:17.075 So 00:07:18.365 --> 00:07:20.945 we put out these numbers broadly. 00:07:20.955 --> 00:07:23.284 There's, there's no reason not to share them. 00:07:23.284 --> 00:07:25.835 And I'm here to talk about them for that reason too. 00:07:26.335 --> 00:07:29.634 If I, if I know what you're talking about, I think that was, there was a recession. 00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:34.850 questions that have been asked, but we certainly don't have a pool of, of, 00:07:34.870 --> 00:07:38.400 of, of, of super users who get this information that other people do not. 00:07:38.410 --> 00:07:43.400 Our entire purpose here is to tell the story of the labor market, tell 00:07:43.400 --> 00:07:46.649 the story of the American economy, and especially when it's such a good story, 00:07:46.679 --> 00:07:48.399 we have no reason not to share it. 00:07:48.765 --> 00:07:52.824 As broadly as we can, but just do you think this raises any 00:07:52.824 --> 00:07:54.414 questions of transparency? 00:07:56.215 --> 00:07:56.635 No. 00:07:56.635 --> 00:07:58.364 And we certainly would not want it. 00:07:58.375 --> 00:08:01.094 You know, we, our, our goal is to be transparent again. 00:08:01.434 --> 00:08:05.774 We collect this information for no other reason than so that we can 00:08:05.844 --> 00:08:10.335 understand what is happening in American households, what the job situation is, 00:08:10.614 --> 00:08:13.525 uh, what jobs are, are being created. 00:08:13.935 --> 00:08:16.914 These Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers drive transparency. 00:08:17.230 --> 00:08:20.340 Economic policy for a reason right there. 00:08:20.349 --> 00:08:22.200 They're they're strong, reliable. 00:08:22.200 --> 00:08:25.570 It's the broadest survey that exists. 00:08:25.590 --> 00:08:30.070 And again, we want we work for transparency. 00:08:30.440 --> 00:08:34.340 We want people to know what is going on in the economy. 00:08:34.359 --> 00:08:36.130 And we think it's important.