THE CASE
July’s jobs report was far worse than anticipated, as the U.S. economy lost 23,000 jobs. As wage growth remains well below inflation and voters face high gas prices from Trump’s endless war with Iran, Americans are feeling the squeeze. Last week, one voter in Rittman, Ohio spoke out on the dire state of Trump’s economy, saying, “you just can’t afford to breathe at this point.” Americans are tired of Trump and Republicans’ policies making their lives harder and voters now rank Democrats above Republicans on economic issues for the first time since 2010.
KEY FACTS AND DATA
Trump’s failed economic agenda is raising costs, killing jobs, and depressing real wage growth.
The US economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, a shocking decline from economists’ predicted increase of 80,000 jobs. Adding insult to injury, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised down their May and June jobs estimates by a combined 103,000, indicating greater national economic instability. [Fox Business, NBC News]
Americans are fleeing the workforce. Just last month, 264,000 workers left the labor force. In total, over 2 million Americans have left the workforce since November 2025 and U.S. labor participation is currently at its lowest level since 1976, excluding the pandemic. [CNBC; NBC News]
Real wages are falling relative to inflation, as hourly earnings increased by just two cents in the past month. This is the lowest hourly earning average since May 2021. [CNBC]
Meanwhile, consumers are not feeling any relief, as American households have already had to pay more than $2,000 due to Trump and Republicans’ policies. [Center for American Progress Action]
Trump is dramatically underperforming his predecessors and his administration is wilfully ignoring their economic failings.
2 million jobs were created in the final months 18 of Biden’s presidency. The Trump administration has added just 548,000 jobs in the first 18 months (or roughly 30,000 a month). [CNN]
Excluding the pandemic, the first year of Trump’s second term was the worst for job creation since the Great Recession. 2026 is currently on track to be the second worst. [MSNOW]
This is the sixth month that job growth has been negative since Trump reentered the White House. Under the entire Biden administration and Obama’s second term, the U.S. experienced zero months of job losses. [MSNOW]
On Sunday, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett argued July job losses could be explained away as the school calendar impacting seasonal work and the end of the World Cup, but there have been job losses in 6 of the 18 reported months of Trump’s second term. [@atrupar.com]
Trump and Republicans’ advantage on the economy has evaporated as voters grow frustrated with his failing policies and misplaced priorities.
Trump’s approval stands at just 33%, with 66% disapproval. [AP-NORC]
For the first time in a decade, Democrats lead Republicans on party trust on the economy, 37%-36%. [Reuters/Ipsos]
Conservative super PAC Americans for Prosperity Action found one in five Republican leaning voters are at risk of defecting from the party or staying home from voting due to economic worries. [Wall Street Journal]
48% of Americans say the cost of living is the most important factor in deciding who to vote for, and Democrats lead Republicans on handling the cost of living by 35% to 27%. [Reuters/Ipsos]
As 77% of Americans say the economy is staying about the same or getting worse, 65% disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, and 69% disapprove of his handling of inflation. [Economist/YouGov]
73% of U.S. adults think Trump has not paid attention to the country’s most important problems, and just 27% believe that he has the right priorities. [CNN]
CALL TO ACTION
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(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)