Bloomberg

Companies in U.S. Blame Trade for 10,488 Job Cuts in August

Thursday, September 5, 2019

By Brendan Murray and Alexandre Tanzi

More than 10,000 Americans lost their jobs in August because of trade pressures, according to a new figure that provides a window into how U.S. tariff policy is affecting the labor market.

According to a monthly report from staffing firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., companies announced plans to eliminate 10,488 positions because of “trade difficulties.” It’s the first time this reason for layoffs has been included in the report.

Challenger’s survey has tallied the number of firing announcements tied specifically to “tariffs” since 2018, when it logged 798 such instances. Through August this year, those have totaled 2,076.

The numbers are significant because of the difficulty quantifying the fallout from trade disruptions, and they provide evidence that President Donald Trump’s trade war with China is harming some companies. The job market, in particular, has been a source of strength with very low unemployment.

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