Tuesday’s belated November jobs report shows the small-business economy is still struggling to shake off the hangover from the Biden administration’s affordability crisis. The data shows 64,000 jobs were created last month, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.6%
However, the onset of numerous pro-growth policies, including lower interest rates, low inflation, deregulation, falling gas prices, and tax cuts will give America’s small business job creation engine the fuel it needs to improve hiring in 2026.
The current labor market picture shows Republicans must double down on these pro-small-business policies. That starts with passing House healthcare reform legislation this week to expand association health plans that reduce premium costs holding back Main Street.
Tuesday’s report did reveal one major victory: President Trump has succeeded more than any Republican before him at shrinking the bloated federal government. Since reaching a peak in January, federal government employment is down by 271,000, a reduction of around 10% to reach the lowest level in more than 10 years.
This federal workforce decline is a stark reversal from the Biden administration, when government jobs were a top driver of employment creation.
Federal government workers and contractors are a tremendous drain on taxpayers, costing approximately $1 trillion a year. Pay, pensions, and benefits cannibalize funds that could otherwise stay on Main Street.
Then there’s the regulatory relief. Federal employees administer programs that touch almost every American. Reducing the army of bureaucrats directly increases American freedom.
The numbers show Trump has exceeded his ambitious goal of four federal government reductions for every one new hire. According to the Office of Personnel and Management, the government hired roughly 68,000 people this year, while approximately 317,000 employees left the government.
And Trump isn’t done. His administration recently issued another executive order to further shrink the workforce. He’s directed executive agency heads to submit annual headcount plans to maximize efficiency and reduce bloat.
You know the Trump administration is over the target when it’s catching flak from left-wing groups. “Throughout President Trump’s second term, the Administration has aggressively abused its authority over federal personnel to impose mass layoffs through so-called ‘reductions in force,’” whines the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, “threatening the federal government’s ability to deliver critical public services affecting everything from public health to special education to consumer protection, among other important functions.”
In other words, Trump is reversing the slow government takeover of the economy and public life.
Americans rightly expect a federal government that is competent, accountable, and focused on core responsibilities. Yet for decades the federal payroll has quietly swelled, increasing cost and complexity without a clear improvement in performance. Shrinking the civilian federal workforce is a fiscally responsible way to force modernization, eliminate duplication, and free resources for the nation’s highest priorities.
Trump deserves plaudits from every limited government supporter for this achievement.
The bottom line from Tuesday’s jobs report is that American economic dead weight is finally being cut and burned, freeing up the private sector, led by small businesses, to grow and flourish in 2026.
Alfredo Ortiz is CEO of Job Creators Network, author of “The Real Race Revolutionaries,” and co-host of 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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