As President Donald Trump tries to gaslight Americans into believing that he's fixed the economy, a number of economic indicators are now flashing red as his idiotic trade and immigration policies are finally having the consequences economists warned about.
On Thursday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the number of job openings has fallen to a more than five-year low, confirming Americans' fears that it is really difficult to find a job right now.
As of the end of December, there were 6.5 million job openings, a decline of 386,000 from the month prior.
"The U.S. 'hiring recession' shows no sign of ending," Navy Federal Credit Union chief economist Heather Long wrote in a post on X, adding that, "Firms aren't even thinking about hiring (outside of healthcare and all-star AI talent)."
What's more, layoffs in January were up 118% from the same point in 2025, the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Thursday. Companies axed 108,435 workers last month, the highest number for any January since 2009, when the economy was cratering during the Great Recession.
“Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January," Andy Challenger, the firm's chief revenue officer, said in a news release. "It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026."
President Donald Trump, shown on Feb. 3.
Making matters worse, the payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that the private sector added just 22,000 jobs in January, calling it "a lackluster month for hiring."
"Job creation took a step back in 2025, with private employers adding 398,000 jobs, down from 771,000 in 2024," Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist, said in a news release.
The stock market is responding in kind, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ all dipping on Thursday morning. Even Bitcoin is cratering, losing more than 40% of its value over the past 6 months.
Trump has been whining about polling showing that Americans believe the economy sucks and that he is to blame. In fact, he went as far as threatening to sue The New York Times when it released a poll showing Americans think he’s made the situation worse since he took office a year ago.
But the economic numbers show that Americans are right in their belief that the economy is on the brink. And no amount of lying from Trump can fix that.
