Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling defended Thursday's monthly jobs report during an appearance on Newsmax's "National Report," arguing the latest employment figures reflect the continued strength of President Donald Trump's economy despite slower job growth.
Sonderling said the report showed the "continued strength of President Trump's economy," pointing to 57,000 jobs added last month.
"So far this year, the president has produced 88,000 new private sector jobs each month," Sonderling said.
"The jobs are continuing to come back in the right places. We continue to see this year manufacturing grow. We continue to see construction for manufacturing plants grow."
He said the administration is fulfilling Trump's pledge to rebuild the nation's industrial base.
"These are bringing the jobs back that the president promised, reindustrializing, reshoring our industries," Sonderling said.
"We're so excited about bringing back these American high-skilled jobs back into our economy that had left."
Asked about hiring slowing from previous months, Sonderling acknowledged the lower monthly total but maintained the labor market remains on solid footing.
"We're still seeing continued growth even with the decreases from the prior month," he said, adding that the administration is focused on "private sector jobs, not government jobs."
Sonderling also pointed to business investment, saying the U.S. saw "$5 billion in new investments" last month and arguing companies continue to expand their operations.
"We're seeing companies hiring. We're seeing companies continue to invest in their infrastructure," he said.
"We're going to continue to see more and more jobs come online and more and more Americans not only getting back into the workforce from the sidelines, but continuing to get better and better opportunities in the workforce."
He also credited the administration's tax policies for boosting workers' earnings.
"As I travel the country, I hear so much about how much more money Americans are taking home in take-home pay thanks to the working families tax cuts, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime," Sonderling said.
Highlighting domestic manufacturing, Sonderling cited recent visits to companies expanding U.S. production.
"I was able to join the president a week ago in Pennsylvania, and we saw how Mack Trucks is building more trucks and reinvesting in their workforce," he said. "Nothing is more American than building Mack trucks."
He also pointed to Harley-Davidson, saying the company is "bringing back manufacturing to Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that they were doing overseas."
"So that's what the president promised," Sonderling said.
"As those investments come back, as the commitment to build more in America comes, we're going to continue to see more and more jobs each and every month."
Before discussing the economy, Sonderling also praised law enforcement officers responding to recent unrest, saying, "Those are tough American jobs, and it shows how resilient they are to be able to climb the towers, to arrest those criminals."
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