The April jobs report delivered another strong month for American workers, and National Economic Council (NEC) Director Kevin Hassett wasted little time making the case Friday that President Trump's economic agenda is working exactly as promised.
The Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3 percent. The number blew past the Wall Street consensus, which had called for just 55,000 jobs, and came on the heels of a revised 185,000 jobs added in March. Healthcare led all sectors with 37,000 new positions, followed by transportation and warehousing at 30,000 and retail at 22,000. Average hourly earnings rose 3.6 percent year-over-year.
During his interview with Bill Hemmer, Hassett argued that the mainstream economic establishment is still badly underestimating the impact of Trump's agenda.
“These are two months in a row of absolutely blockbuster numbers,” Hassett said. “To put them into perspective, Bill—not that I'm counting—they have 65 economists who were polled at Bloomberg on what the number should be. Sixty-two came in way below. Sixty-two out of 65.”
NEC Director Kevin Hassett: "It's really astonishing what record-setting numbers we’re starting to see... The factory boom that President Trump has talked so much about is visible everywhere. We've got about 70,000 people who have jobs now building factories." pic.twitter.com/7XoFrcw510
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 8, 2026
"The fact is people still don't have faith that the golden age is upon us, that Trump policies are working," Hassett said. "But it keeps showing up in the data. It's really astonishing what record-setting numbers we're starting to see."
He pointed to unemployment insurance initial claims as one of the most telling indicators in the current data.
“The initial claims for unemployment insurance — which is a key backbone of these jobs numbers, that metric of whether people are getting laid off — they're the lowest they've been since they started making data in 1960,” Hassett said. “Right now we have the lowest initial claims for unemployment insurance in recorded history. We've got capital spending. The factory boom that President Trump has talked so much about is visible everywhere.”
Capital goods investment was also up 3.3 percent for the month alone, not an annualized figure, which Hassett cited as evidence that the factory-building surge is accelerating. Construction added 9,000 jobs in April, with nonresidential specialty trade contractors posting some of the strongest gains in the sector.
Hassett emphasized that factory construction and industrial investment are beginning to accelerate in ways that will create additional downstream hiring.
“We’ve got about 70,000 people who have jobs now building factories,” Hassett said. “Those factories are going to end up putting machines in and creating jobs.”
The White House has increasingly leaned on manufacturing and construction metrics as part of its economic messaging, framing Trump's second-term agenda around domestic production and industrial revival. Friday's report gave them more than enough to work with.
Read More: US Jobless Claims Hit a Number Not Seen Since Nixon Was President
When 62 out of 65 Wall Street economists get it wrong two months running, it raises a simple question: Who has a better read on the American economy right now? Based on the data, the answer is the Trump administration.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.
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