Fox News host Bill Hemmer confronted White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett on Friday over a weaker-than-expected jobs report, but Hassett insisted the broader economic data shows the president's agenda is working.
Hemmer laid out the numbers during an interview on "America's Newsroom."
"U.S. added 29,000 jobs last month, but we had expected about 90,000," Hemmer said. "Unemployment ticked up a tenth of a percent to 4.2."
Hemmer also noted that Wall Street was reacting positively despite the report.
"The market likes it. Stocks are flying right now on Wall Street. The Dow is up 338 points, the NASDAQ up well over 1%, and S&P is trending that way as well," he said.
Hemmer then put the question directly to Hassett.
"What do you make of this number?" he asked. "'Cause you missed the number by about 66%."
Hassett responded that monthly jobs figures tend to fluctuate and argued that the week's broader economic data paints a positive picture.
"The thing about the jobs numbers is that they sort of bounce up and down," Hassett said. "But if you look at the data from this week, it's proving that Trumponomics is really working, and this is one reason why markets are celebrating so much."
Hassett pointed to a GDP release from earlier in the week.
"We got a GDP release a couple days ago that radically revised up GDP, and revised it up on things that are positive for growth, like factory spending, and so on," he said.
He also cited the latest inflation data, which he described as the Federal Reserve's preferred measure. Hassett said the three-month moving average shows core inflation at just 2% and top-line inflation at only 1%, explaining that food and energy prices are now declining from their summer highs.
Hassett acknowledged that the jobs report was "a little bit lukewarm," but said the details tell a more encouraging story.
"If you look inside, 12,000 of the jobs were factory construction jobs. So there are 112,000 people who are building factories right now that weren't doing it when President Trump took office," Hassett said.
He argued that those projects will lead to more employment down the road.
"And so those factories will turn into future jobs and we're seeing it even with the groundbreaking the president did yesterday in Texas," he said.
Hassett summed up the administration's view of the week's economic news.
"So, we're very, very happy with the numbers this week, and I think the markets are, too," he said.
"So, you're bullish, I expected that," Hemmer replied.
Hemmer then turned to the labor force participation rate, asking whether the report showed that half a million Americans had returned to the workforce.
Hassett confirmed that was the case and said it reflects confidence in the job market.
"Right, yeah, so people are seeing the strong labor market and they're saying 'Oh, I need to get back to the labor force 'cause I'm gonna make so much money,'" Hassett said. "And that's one reason why the unemployment rate just ticked in a different direction."
