Job creation smashed expectations last month, with the economy adding 228,000 jobs, far more than average. Just as impressive as the topline number is the makeup of these jobs, which overwhelmingly came in the productive private sector.
The jobs report reflects the strong ADP private-sector payroll report on Wednesday, which also blew past predictions and demonstrated the strength of Main Street. These jobs numbers are a stark change from the Biden administration, where approximately half of the new jobs were in government or quasi-government roles.
Federal jobs declined again last month thanks to the Trump administration’s efficiency efforts. According to a Challenger, Grey & Christmas report on Thursday, 216,215 federal government jobs were cut last month. These jobs are unproductive and a drag on the economy.
Wage growth also rose faster than inflation, meaning Americans’ living standards are rising once again after falling during the Biden administration.
This solid job creation echoes new JCN polling, which shows small business confidence and hiring remain at near-record highs following Trump’s reelection.
This data from actual small business owners contradicts the media spin that small business and consumer sentiment is weakening. As usual, there’s a disconnect between the legacy media narrative and what’s actually happening on Main Street.
Job creators are reacting to what the Wall Street Journal calls “one of the most sweeping deregulatory drives in modern U.S. history.” The Trump White House has ordered every federal department and agency to repeal at least 10 regulations for every new one they implement, reducing red tape holding small businesses back.
Consider the Trump administration’s environmental regulations alone. Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency, led by Lee Zeldin, launched 31 separate deregulatory actions to help small businesses and ordinary Americans.
These include deregulation of burdensome rules on power plants, oil, gas, and coal, greenhouse gas reporting, steam power, automobile emissions, manufacturers, the social cost of carbon and “environmental justice” (whatever that is!).
But the Trump administration can only do so much. Now it’s time for Congress to act. The most important thing it can do to help small businesses extend this hiring boom is expand and make permanent the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Small businesses were the biggest winners of this legislation, which granted them a 20% tax deduction, immediate expensing, and lower rates. No wonder JCN polling shows small businesses support the TCJA by a four-to-one margin.
Yet without Congressional action, the TCJA expires at the end of the year, which would crush Main Street and raise taxes on average Americans by 22%. As I argued on Fox News on Friday morning, in response to tariff softness, Congress should go even deeper on tax cuts this time around, including expanding the small business deduction to 25% and reducing the corporate rate to 15%.
TCJA progress will make small businesses even more optimistic to hire and expand in the months ahead. But they need tax certainty to make multi-year plans, so Congress must act as soon as possible.
But for now, ignore the noise. As the jobs report and JCN polling confirm, American small businesses are doing great.
Alfredo Ortiz is CEO of Job Creators Network, author of “The Real Race Revolutionaries,” and co-host of the Main Street Matters podcast.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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