A newly released White House memo reveals that President Donald Trump’s economic performance in the early days of his second administration has been overshadowed by the ongoing conversation around tariffs. According to the administration, robust job creation and falling prices across key industries have marked the first 100 days since his inauguration on January 20.
In an economic progress report issued by the Council of Economic Advisers, the Trump administration highlighted several indicators that they say demonstrate a strengthening economy. “345,000 jobs created, including 188,000 (54%) neither government nor government-adjacent,” the memo states, listing a breakdown of employment growth across multiple sectors.
Gains include 2,000 new positions in mining and logging, 27,000 in construction, and 9,000 in manufacturing — a stark turnaround from the monthly loss of 6,000 factory jobs seen between January 2023 and December 2024. Meanwhile, 15,000 federal government positions have been eliminated.
Labor participation among individuals without a high school diploma has seen a 0.7% rise, and the unemployment rate among veterans dropped from 4.2% in January to 3.8% in March.
March alone saw 228,000 jobs added, exceeding forecasts and ranking as the fourth-highest month for private sector employment gains in two years. The number of federal workers engaging in remote work has dropped more than 16 percentage points compared to the same time last year.
The cost of prescription drugs has declined over 2%, including what the memo notes as the largest monthly drop on record. Gasoline prices fell 7% based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), while energy costs dropped 2%, and wholesale egg prices plunged by about half.
February inflation figures revealed the smallest annual rise in core inflation since March 2021. CPI data from both February and March came in lower than predicted, with March showing only the second monthly decline in inflation in two and a half years.
These positive trends are contrasted with economic conditions under President Joe Biden. The memo states that during Biden’s term, Americans endured the highest annual inflation rate in four decades. “On Biden’s watch, grocery prices rose 23%, and energy prices rose 34%.” The memo adds that real wages dropped about 2.4% over that period.
More recently, the prices of airfare, used vehicles, and car insurance have all declined. Wholesale prices also trended downward last month, with goods falling nearly 1% and services dropping 0.2%, changes expected to lower consumer costs in the near future.
The report also notes that retail egg price inflation has continued to slow. For middle- and lower-income earners, real average hourly wages have risen by 0.4%, while workers in the manufacturing industry have seen a 1% increase.
Auto sales posted their most significant monthly jump in over a year this March, with the administration pointing to this as further proof of economic vitality.
Mortgage rates have eased by approximately 0.4 percentage points. For someone purchasing a home at today’s median price with a standard 20% down payment and a 30-year mortgage, that translates to savings of around $32,400 over the life of the loan, or about $1,080 per year.
Industrial production was recorded at its seventh-highest level ever in March, with only six months — all under Trump’s previous term or this one — registering higher outputs.
New commitments for investment in the U.S. since Trump returned to office have surpassed $5 trillion, stemming from both foreign governments and private companies, according to the report.
One of Trump’s earliest acts was to cancel all pending regulations from the previous administration, a move that the memo claims saved American households over $180 billion, or roughly $2,100 for a family of four over ten years. The administration also launched a wide-ranging regulatory rollback to slash costs across the board. Notable among these efforts are changes to EPA vehicle emissions standards, projected to save $667 billion, and adjustments to the Department of Transportation’s fuel efficiency rules, expected to save another $88 billion.
Combined, these actions amount to $755 billion in projected savings — over $8,800 for a typical family of four — with overall deregulatory efforts estimated to bring in $935 billion in total relief over the next decade, equating to nearly $11,000 per family of four.
To enforce these initiatives, the Trump administration is applying a 10-to-1 deregulatory ratio: for each new rule or guidance introduced, ten existing ones must be rescinded. This approach builds on the policy from Trump’s first term, which required at least two regulations to be repealed for every new one, although the actual average then was 5.5 rules removed per major new rule.
So far, over 20 major deregulatory actions — in the form of executive orders, proclamations, and memoranda — have been signed by President Trump, underscoring his commitment to reshaping the federal regulatory landscape.
{Matzav.com}