Fed is choking off growth with high rates, says Treasury Secretary

Published 09/09/2025, 16:54
© Reuters.

Investing.com -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Federal Reserve is "choking off growth with high rates" as new data revealed significant downward revisions to employment figures.

According to Bessent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs data showed that 2024 job gains were "exaggerated by nearly 1M workers." This comes on top of an already reported 577,000 in downward revisions, bringing what Bessent called the "Biden jobs overstatement" to approximately 1.5 million positions.

The Treasury Secretary’s comments follow Tuesday’s government report indicating the U.S. economy likely created 911,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months through March than previously estimated.

Bessent suggested these revisions paint a different economic picture than earlier understood, stating that "President Trump inherited a far worse economy than reported." He supported Trump’s position that Federal Reserve monetary policy is restricting economic growth.

The downward revision indicates job growth was already slowing before the implementation of President Trump’s new tariff policies on imports.

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