American Hiring at Three-Year High in February Under Trump Administration

Scott Berreth, a derrick hand for Raven Drilling, works on an oil rig drilling into the Ba
Andrew Burton/Getty
Ben Kew

Hiring across America is at its highest levels in three years amid rising business confidence under the Trump administration, figures from the ADP Research Institute reveal.

In the month of February, the number of private payrolls increased by 298,000, well above the original forecast of 187,000. January also saw levels of hiring above forecast, with a revised gain of 261,000 jobs created.

Jobs in construction also rose by 66,000, the highest in 11 years, while factories also added 32,000 new workers, the highest since 2012.

One of Donald Trump’s key campaign pledges was to bring jobs back to America, especially in rustbelt states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, where industries have faltered and jobs have been outsourced to Mexico.

Following the election, a range of companies including Ford and Carrier Corporation have promised Trump to cancel their overseas expansion plans and instead invest in American jobs.

Technology firms such as Apple, Amazon, and Intel have all also pledged to create thousands of new jobs in America over the coming years.

Amid rising economic confidence, the Dow Jones industrial average broke record levels in January, breaking 20,000 points on its stock index.

In a statement, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc, confirmed that “Unseasonably mild winter weather undoubtedly played a role. But near-record-high job openings and record-low layoffs underpin the entire job market.”

Since taking office, Trump has also promised significant tax breaks for both individuals and companies, as the new administration looks to boost competition.

“We are going to be cutting taxes massively for both the middle class and for companies,” Trump said in a meeting with business leaders in January. “And that’s massively. We’re trying to get it down to anywhere from 15 to 20 percent.”

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