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Line from New York City for our audience worldwide on Bloomberg TV and on Bloomberg Radio. I'm Jonathan Ferrow and joining us now. I'm very pleased to say is the US Labor Secretary, Laurie Chevesdrema, the Madam Secretary. Welcome to the program, and first of all, congratulations on your confirmation. Secondly, the jobs report a blowout jobs report, an upside surprise. There can be no debate about how solid this job
report is this morning. Where there is debate on Wall Street, as I'm sure you know, is whether this will be the last solid jobs report for the remainder of twenty twenty five. There is a lot of worry about policy volatil isy. What gives you the faith the hope that we will see more of the same?
Yan for having me and listen. This is a great day for America. This is a great day for the American worker, and this is a great day for President Trump. I can tell you this, I don't expect that this will be the last positive job report. We're going to be on the ground, We're going to be working together, We're going to be focused on the American worker.
We blew it out of the water.
Today and again, as I said, this is a great day for America.
With Stokes down two point five percent, for Wall Street, they'll struggle to say the same thing we heard from JP Morgan in the last twenty four as you said, there will be blood, no dutta for an Incelance macrob another Wold non strategist on Wall Street, said it's obliteration day, not liberation day. Where are we going to get the confidence to hire in America with sentiments so beaten up over the past month.
Well, again, I don't believe that that's a sentiment across America when you're talking to the workforce.
If we grow this economy, if.
We have positive job growth, people will start to keep more of their hard earned dollars. They'll start to invest, they'll start to save, and I think you'll see those markets respond again. The President, you know, went around during the campaign, and he's keeping his promises to the American worker. He is the president of the American worker. We align on that. I'm going to be on the ground starting
this weekend in Pennsylvania talking to the American worker. I want to know what they're doing what they care about, and our report and advise the President on the positivity there, and we're going to start to grow this economy as we build the workforce here in America, and we're going to see these numbers continue to rise.
We don't hear that same positivity in a recent consumer sentiments survey. In fact, two thirds expected unemployments of worsen through the remainder of the year, the highest reading going back to two thousand and nine. These are people who are anxious about their jobs, anxious about the labor market. You want to see a massive transformation, You want to see a huge shift, a reshuring of manufacturing. There are
things a lot of people want to see. At the same time, we hear repeatedly that people are just sitting on their hands and waiting. Who's going to do the hiring.
Well, I can tell you this, the labor market is holding steady and we're growing. Unemployment is holding steady, the labor demand is growing.
We're seeing that in our companies.
We're seeing the investments by major companies tens of billions, hundreds of billions of dollars. The workforce, the American workforce is going to grow, that is going to be the key for the President. It's going to be the key for me as the Department of Labor to protect these American workers first and grow this economy. That's what we're seeing across the board. So yes, we will be hiring. We have to get out there and make sure that our workforce is skilled and trained.
That's what I'll be focused on.
You know, John as a former mayor, as somebody on the ground that matters most in all of these communities where they are urban, suburban, or rule, and we want to make sure that we're our supporting President Trump and his agenda and that we're growing that workforce each and every day.
I think out of Secretary, a lot of people would have sympathy with the idea that a lot of manufacturing in America has been hollowed out over the past few decades because of globalization. They will certainly have sympathy with that. Where they will struggle is with the strategy for this week.
When you see tariffs like forty six percent on Vietnam, when you see retailers get absolutely hammered, you can take a step back and just acknowledge that the way differential between what you can earn in Vietnam and what you can and in the United States is just too large that those companies will have to accept the tariff, won't be able to move manufacturing back to the United States, and they'll have to do something about costs, which will
damage the retailer on the ground on main street in America. It's the rollout of this strategy that people are really struggling with. Madame Secretary, how can you guarantee that these retailers won't just be laying people off and putting up prices. In what world are they going to move manufacturing from Vietnam and start making sneakers in the United States.
Well, I can tell you this.
What we saw at the Rose Garden just two days ago was the President talking to the American worker.
We saw who was in the audience. We saw the.
American worker there supporting President Trump. That's who he campaigned to, That's who he believes and that's who I believe in. These companies are going to repatriot, they are going to onshore back to the United States. We want fair trade agreements for our American businesses here as well.
That's what the President does best.
I can tell you this, he is a master negotiator, and he can teach a masterclass in that. I I can tell you the people who were in that audience were excited, they were cheering him on, and they are supportive of that.
I will continue that effort.
I will be on the ground across this country to make sure that the President knows what's happening on the ground and we can continue to have positive growth for those business owners who are on the ground, because I do understand that they put their blood, sweat and tears into the businesses that they have, and the American worker as well.
We're going to protect all of them.
They put their blood, sweat and tears into the ground as well. The American farm has got to confront this headline this morning that China's announcing an extra thirty four percent tariff on US goods. What's your message to.
Them, Well, our farmers and ranchers and producers deserve our attention as well. I'll be working with the AG Secretary along with President Trump to make sure that they have the necessary things that they need to make sure that we are competitive on the world stage. America is number one, it will continue to be number one, and I'll do everything I can to support those farmers and ranchers and producers with the American workers and the workforce that they need to get the job done.
So we've got some key dates. April fifth. Baseline tariffs go in April ninth. The bigger tariss go on the day after China threatens to retaliate. You're the face of the administration today. Are there any negotiations taking place this weekend at a high level between China and the United States.
Well, I would imagine the President is on listen. President Trump works NonStop. That is why he built a formidable team like myself and the rest of the secretaries to do our job and support him.
We will continue to do so.
I would imagine that the President is continuing to have these conversations because he wants to protect the American worker and the American business. We're going to make America wealthy again. You heard him say it, and I'm going to help him do it.
I hope you're right there are down some Wall Street this morning, and you and I will talk again in the future, I'm sure for an update, Madam Secretary, thank you for your time. The Labor Secretary, Violet Laurie Chaves de Rema Madam Secretary, thank you,