WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added just 22,000 jobs last month as the labor market continued to cool due to uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s economic policies.

Hiring decelerated from 79,000 in July, the Labor Department said Friday, and came in below the roughly 80,000 economists had expected for August. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, also worse than expected and the highest level since 2021.

When the Labor Department put out a disappointing jobs report a month ago, an enraged Trump responded by firing the economist in charge of compiling the numbers and nominating a loyalist to replace her.

Talking to reporters Thursday night at a dinner with wealthy tech executives, Trump shrugged off the U.S. jobs data before it landed. “The real numbers that I’m talking about

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