President Donald Trump has told Congress that "the Golden Age of America has only just begun." So let me give you the present the most recent updates out there on inflation, labor, economy and stock market. I am going to inject no opinion in this piece. Just the facts.
Inflation: During the Presidential campaign, Trump promised "to end inflation on Day One and make America affordable again." In February, the inflation rate eased to 2.8%, which 0.1% better than analysts predicted. It was 3.0% in January.
Jobs: The US added 151,000 new jobs in February, which is weaker than the 170,000 predicted by Dow Jones.
Unemployment: Unemployment rose from 4.0% in January to 4.1% in February. Although it has risen slightly, Barron's observes that this is still considered "full employment."
GDP: For the 4th quarter of 2024, when President Joe Biden was still in office, GDP rose 2.3%. The Fed's NowCast (estimate based on available economic data) projects a negative GDP of -2.4% for the first quarter of 2025. Trump said in a recent Fox News interview that there would be a "period of transition."
Stock Market: It closed on Friday with its worst week since March 2023. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are down over 10% from February highs, which means the market is in correction.
These are the facts. I think it's still too early to say whether Trump's economic policies are failing or succeeding. The data will tell us.
