Jobless claims rose to 248,000 last week, approaching a critical threshold that economists say could signal the approach of a recession. Tuan Nguyen, economist at RSM U.S. LLP, wrote, “New claims continued to climb, reaching 248,000 and, for the second week in a row, approaching the 250,000 threshold, which represents a recession risk.”
As Bloomberg reports, Nguyen added that there is a noticeable slowdown in hiring due to business uncertainty.
Matt Kubancik, a retailer and supporter of Donald Trump based in Louisville, Kentucky, expressing buyer’s remorse, described the president’s second term as a “vacation from hell.” Kubancik laments the negative impact of Chinese tariffs on his business. Besides him, Kentucky business owners and some retail chains also call the duties a destructive move for the economy and a real “threat to family businesses.” Letters published by the New York Post highlight how the increase in tariffs on Chinese products to 145 percent is hitting hard companies with already slim margins.
Experts point out that although the stock market has partially rebounded following President Trump’s decision to suspend new tariffs against trading partners, small businesses remain under severe pressure.
The U.S. economy created 139,000 jobs according to the latest report, but only 37,000 in the private sector, the lowest figure since March 2023. For recent graduates and new entrants to the job market, this is one of the most difficult environments in recent years. Carrie Freestone, economist at RBC Capital Markets, told Yahoo Finance, “Nobody wants to increase hiring when they don’t know what’s going to happen in the next few months.”
