.By the time next week’s version of this newsletter hits your inbox, we may be on the second day of a partial government shutdown, and President Donald Trump’s budget office is warning that the administration will pursue reductions in the size of the federal workforce, rather than just furloughing nonessential workers.

Weekly jobless claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 218,000, the Labor Department announced Thursday, coming in lower than forecast. But as Reuters reported , there are still concerns about a “lackluster demand for workers.”

All this comes as polls show Trump underwater on the economy and as Democrats see high consumer costs as a winning issue for the party in next year’s midterm elections.

“As millions of hardworking families struggle to keep up with skyrocketing gro

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