‘People’s Jobs Report’ From Economic Justice Campaigners Shows Harm of GOP Policies

With the US government entering the third day of a shutdown Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics didn't release the monthly jobs report as scheduled—but one economic justice group said that even without the official analysis of the labor market, it's clear that President Donald Trump and the Republican Party's policies have "devastated workers and families," with the shutdown making matters worse for millions.

Unrig Our Economy provided its own People's Jobs Report to "fill the gaps" left by Republicans, who have refused to agree to Democrats' demands to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies and reverse Medicaid cuts in a spending bill to keep the government open.

Trump and GOP leaders have falsely claimed that Democrats are demanding "free healthcare" for undocumented immigrants—who are not eligible for government-run healthcare programs like Medicaid. The Democratic Party and experts have warned that the expiration of the ACA subsidies would raise healthcare premiums by 75% for millions of Americans.

Unrig Our Economy noted in its "Jobs Day" report that the expiration of the tax credits could also cost the US economy nearly 300,000 jobs in the next year, including 130,000 jobs lost "because of direct reductions in the provision of hospital, physician, and other ambulatory care as well as reductions in pharmacy-related services."

As the Commonwealth Fund reported in March, 156,000 jobs could be lost next year in sectors including manufacturing, retail, and real estate "as a result of the indirect or induced effects of healthcare funding losses," with rural communities among the hardest-hit areas.

“This ‘People’s Jobs Report’ from Unrig Our Economy shows how destructive Republican policies have been on the economy."

Those projected losses would compound "some of the most alarming economic developments" under the Republican-controlled government, said Unrig Our Economy.

The group cited an ADP report which found that while official statistics can't be reported as long as the BLS is closed, US companies shed an estimated 32,000 jobs in September.

About 13,000 jobs were lost in June, the group noted—the first time the economy lost jobs since 2020. The unemployment rate in last month's BLS report stood at 4.3%—the highest it's been since 2021.

Unemployment claims also rose to nearly 2 million in August—the highest since 2021—while Trump's tariff policies have "caused chaos for employers" including small businesses, where employment has dropped by 26,700 since the president took office for his second term in January.

"In tariff-related industries, payrolls fell by 90,100 jobs, including 42,000 jobs in manufacturing," said Unrig Our Economy. "Wholesale trade jobs fell by more than 26,000 since January and mining and logging jobs fell by 12,000 during the same period."

The group released its report a day after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on the federal government to move forward with releasing the official jobs report despite the government shut down. Democrats have warned that the Trump administration has kept Americans in the dark about the true state of the economy, including when the president demanded the firing of Erika McEntarfer, who until August was the commissioner of the BLS.

McEntarfer was dismissed after the agency released a jobs report that showed the economy had added only 73,000 jobs in July—data that Trump baselessly claimed had been falsified to harm him politically. Her departure, however, didn't stop the flow of negative news about the economy under Republican leadership; the jobs report released in early September showed only 22,000 jobs created the previous month.

“Donald Trump’s economic agenda is inflicting massive pain on our economy and to add to the economic uncertainty, he’s shut down the government rather than save healthcare for millions of Americans," said Warren on Thursday. "But let’s be clear: The jobs data scheduled to come out this Friday has undoubtedly been collected and the president must release it. Without it, the Federal Reserve will not have the full picture it needs to make decisions this month about interest rates that will impact every family across the country. Donald Trump has the power to make sure the federal government can continue producing and releasing this critical information on Friday and beyond during his shutdown.”

William Beach, a former commissioner of the BLS, said this week that the September jobs data has been collected.

"Trump stopped the Bureau of Labor Statistics from releasing its monthly jobs report because Americans are struggling, and the numbers are disastrous," said Alexandra De Luca of American Bridge 21st Century. "But people deserve to know just how bad Trump's economy is."

A Bloomberg poll of economists found that employers likely added 53,000 jobs last month—fewer than the average of 64,000 added over the previous six months—and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago estimated that the unemployment rate has remained at 4.3%.

“Working people deserve a government that lowers their healthcare costs and creates good-paying jobs,” said Leor Tal, Unrig Our Economy campaign director Leor Tal. “This People’s Jobs Report from Unrig Our Economy shows how destructive Republican policies have been on the economy. Not only are Republicans in Congress tanking the economy by raising costs on families and cutting essential programs that help them make ends meet, but they’re destroying jobs too—all while giving billionaires massive tax breaks.”