Donald Trump received some good news on the economy as the US jobs market rebounded in March. Employers added 196,000 jobs in the month up sharply from a meagre gain of 33,000 in February.
The latest figures indicate that February’s unexpectedly poor showing was a blip rather than a worrying sign of a slowdown, as some analysts had feared.
Unemployment remained at 3.8 per cent, close to its lowest level in 50 years, while wage growth slowed marginally. Average hourly pay increased 3.2 per cent from a year earlier down from February’s gain of 3.4 per cent.
The US president still faces a number of economic challenges however, not least the negative impact of his trade war with China on many American firms.
Consumers also remain cautious, business investment is slowing and the effects of Mr Trump’s $1.5 trillion (£1.2 trillion) tax cut for businesses and wealthy individuals are wearing off.
1/19 Donald Trump’s Cabinet
Donald Trump’s Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians.
AFP/Getty
2/19 Wilbur Ross
Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement.
AFP/Getty
3/19 Robert Lighthizer
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump’s ongoing trade spat with China.
AFP/Getty
4/19 Mike Pence
US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals.
AFP/Getty
5/19 William Barr
Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation’s top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation.
EPA
6/19 Mike Pompeo
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump’s previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un.
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7/19 Rick Perry
Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump’s presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements.
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8/19 Betsy DeVos
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes.
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9/19 Alex Acosta
Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta still remains in his post despite calls to resign over his involvement in a controversial case surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.
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10/19 Steven Mnuchin
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses.
AP
11/19 Robert Wilkie
Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump’s White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions.
AFP/Getty
12/19 Elaine Chao
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband’s, Mitch McConnell.
AFP/Getty
13/19 Kirstjen Nielsen
Secretary of Homeland Kirstjen Nielsen has stirred major backlash throughout her tenure for allegedly lying about details of the zero tolerance policy that caused the systematic separation of migrant families at the US-Mexico border.
Reuters
14/19 Ben Carson
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office.
Reuters
15/19 Gina Haspel
CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay.
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16/19 Dan Coats
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump’s administration over his refuting the president’s claims surrounding ISIS.
Reuters
17/19 Sonny Perdue
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership.
Reuters
18/19 Alex Azar
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive.
Getty
19/19 Mick Mulvaney
Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House.
EPA
1/19 Donald Trump’s Cabinet
Donald Trump’s Cabinet is one the richest in American history, filled with billionaires, conservatives and several career politicians.
AFP/Getty
2/19 Wilbur Ross
Secretary of Commerce Wibur Ross raised controversy when he was accused of falsely claiming to have sold stock in a bank and violated a government ethics agreement.
AFP/Getty
3/19 Robert Lighthizer
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been a fixture in Donald Trump’s ongoing trade spat with China.
AFP/Getty
4/19 Mike Pence
US Vice President Mike Pence has defended Donald Trump throughout his presidency while walking a fine line to avoid any public involvement in major scandals.
AFP/Getty
5/19 William Barr
Attorney General William Barr replaced Jeff Sessions as the nation’s top cop in early 2019 and has refused to commit to recusing himself from the Russia probe despite an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department decrying the investigation.
EPA
6/19 Mike Pompeo
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo replaced Donald Trump’s previous appointment to the post, Rex Tillerson, and has led talks with North Korea in establishing high-profile summits between the president and Kim Jong Un.
Getty
7/19 Rick Perry
Energy Secretary Rick Perry has held his post throughout Donald Trump’s presidency despite previously undermining the need for the agency he now leads in past public statements.
Getty
8/19 Betsy DeVos
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has also held her post throughout the presidency, despite major backlash to her apparent undermining of the nationwide public school system and advocacy for charter programmes.
Getty
9/19 Alex Acosta
Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta still remains in his post despite calls to resign over his involvement in a controversial case surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.
Getty
10/19 Steven Mnuchin
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has faced numerous controversies throughout his tenure as the head of Treasury, including costing taxpayers at least a million dollars in travel expenses.
AP
11/19 Robert Wilkie
Veterans Affairs secretary Robert Wilkie was appointed after Donald Trump’s White House doctor Ronny Jackson withdrew over allegations he provided prescription drugs to patients without prescriptions.
AFP/Getty
12/19 Elaine Chao
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has held her post throughout the presidency and has mostly avoided controversy, despite a report claiming her office has been in frequent coordination with her husband’s, Mitch McConnell.
AFP/Getty
13/19 Kirstjen Nielsen
Secretary of Homeland Kirstjen Nielsen has stirred major backlash throughout her tenure for allegedly lying about details of the zero tolerance policy that caused the systematic separation of migrant families at the US-Mexico border.
Reuters
14/19 Ben Carson
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson was appointed shortly after Donald Trump took office and raised controversy over an exorbitant furnishing bill for his office.
Reuters
15/19 Gina Haspel
CIA Director Gina Haspel was appointed in 2018 and faced backlash surrounding her oversight of Guantanamo Bay.
Getty
16/19 Dan Coats
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be the next person to leave Donald Trump’s administration over his refuting the president’s claims surrounding ISIS.
Reuters
17/19 Sonny Perdue
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been dogged by ethics questions throughout his tenure and faced controversy when emails showed the agency appeared willing to eagerly work with lobbyists under his leadership.
Reuters
18/19 Alex Azar
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and former drug company executive.
Getty
19/19 Mick Mulvaney
Acting Chief of Staff and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney has described himself as one of the most conservative officials in the White House.
EPA
Mr Trump said on Thursday that US trade negotiators had agreed “a lot of the most difficult points” on a deal with China but that “we have some ways to go”.
The world’s two largest economies have imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of each others’ goods over the past year.
“This is an epic deal, historic – if it happens,” said Mr Trump.
“This is the Grand Daddy of them all and we’ll see if it happens. It’s got a very good chance of happening.”
US economic growth slowed sharply in the last three months of 2018 to just 2.2 per cent from 2.6 per cent.
The adjustment came after consumer spending, business investment, government spending and housebuilding all came in lower than had previously been predicted.
The Federal Reserve has also downgraded its growth forecast for this year to 2.1 per cent, significantly lower than the 3.2 per cent growth forecast by the White House.
During his State of the Union address in February, Mr Trump received a standing ovation from Republicans when he said: “The US economy is growing almost twice as fast today as when I took office and we are considered far and away the hottest economy anywhere in the world. Not even close.”
