In the United States, the labor market is slowing down, with only 22,000 jobs created in August. This is far from what analysts expected, but also far from the optimistic statements made by the White House. This time, Donald Trump will no longer be able to blame the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which produces the monthly employment barometer.

In the United States, analysts were predicting 75,000 job creations, a third less than expected. Meanwhile, unemployment rose slightly for the third month in a row to 4.3%. This is a measured increase, given that the decline in economic activity is accompanied by a shrinking workforce linked to Donald Trump's immigration policy.

"He's actively pursuing a policy of reducing the workforce by increasing deportations," explains Kathryn Edwards, a labor market economist at Bloomberg. "People don't realize that labor force growth in the United States is directly linked to immigration. So 22,000 jobs created is not a good number."

But in such a context, which directly attacks a part of the workforce, this could be enough to maintain near-full employment, estimates Kathryn Edwards.

A drop in interest rates in sight?

This monthly report is the first since Donald Trump, dissatisfied with the figures, fired the head of the statistics bureau in early August. The loyalist he chose to replace her has not yet taken office, but the American president is already looking further into the future: "The numbers I'm really interested in will be published in a year. At that time, you'll see numbers like you've never seen before."

His Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, is making the same point: "The Trump economy, the explosive power of his tariff policy, all these factories being built in the United States, will take effect within six months, a year. And you will be just amazed."

The US president blames these negative developments on the head of the Central Bank. However, they could prompt the Fed chief to announce a cut in his key interest rate in mid-September. Economists agree that the labor market is at a standstill because businesses need stability to hire. The only way out is therefore an interest rate cut, which could be announced by the US central bank within ten days, explains our correspondent in Washington, Vincent Souriau, at the risk of reigniting inflation.