The US economy just posted a jobs report that blew past expectations, and President Donald Trump’s takeaway is straightforward: the Federal Reserve should not even think about raising interest rates.
In an NBC interview, Trump argued that strong employment numbers are a reason to keep rates low, not to tighten monetary policy. The May 2026 jobs report showed 172,000 nonfarm payrolls added, crushing the consensus estimate of roughly 105,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%.
A jobs beat that spooked markets
The blowout jobs number triggered selloffs in both stocks and bonds. More jobs means more spending power, which means more inflation pressure, which means the Fed might hike rates to cool things down.
Prior months’ jobs data was also revised higher following the report’s release.
