As of April 2025, the national average unemployment rate is 4.2%, there are about 6 million people who still remain unemployed (Friedman, 2025). The current state of the U.S. job market displays a complicated state of different policies and economic changes.
Trump’s administration policies have caused a drastic impact to employees, particularly workers in manufacturing, labor unions, and other service industries have faced the greatest impact.
According to CNN, it has been nearly 100 days since Trump has been in office and firing has been done in at least 30 agencies. These job layoffs raise concern to many, wondering how United States residents will depend without the focus of many of the essential resources. More than 51% of the Department of Education was gutted in February.
Federal cuts to programs, especially related to education, healthcare, transportation, and public safety will not only hurt the economy but also many families. Students who want to receive a higher education, face a great impact towards having to pay for college.
The rate of unemployment and job layoffs is a significant problem, ultimately demonstrating no great impact but rather gathering more problems. From a resident’s point of view, it seems as if the decisions done by Trump’s administration are to harm or hurt rather than help the United States as a whole.
The United States Office of Personnel Management, who is responsible for managing the civil service of the federal government, proposed a service regulation to allow career federal employees to convert to a new “Schedule Policy/Career” (Friedman, 2025). As a result, this makes it possible for agencies to fire employees quickly.
In a social media post, Trump writes, “If these government workers refuse to advance the policy interests of the President, or are engaging in corrupt behavior, they should no longer have a job.” He adds, “This is common sense, and will allow the federal government to finally run ‘like a business’” (Friedman, 2025).
How is risking the outcome of the economy and hurting many families, necessarily beneficial to run ‘like a business’ or to the economy as a whole. As someone who is supposed to help the residents of the United States and demonstrate morals, Trump and his administration do the exact opposite.
This regulation had been seen in Trump’s first term and is a revival of the Schedule F executive order. The previous order was also aimed to classify many careers that shape federal policy. However, the order was revoked by President Joe Biden before it came into effect. (Friedman, 2025)
Documents from Trump’s first term show that 200,000 career federal positions could have their jobs taken away (Friedman, 2025).
The job layoffs themselves are not the only thing that remains a concern, but also the significant impact these layoffs leave behind. Why focus on hurting residents and the economy, rather than building a stronger one? Agencies for International Development, specifically USAID was officially closed by Trump’s administration. Countries and people who relied on these agencies to help starvation and address human trafficking are being affected (Egan, Wallace, 2025). Instead of focusing on these agencies to improve the economy, taking them away does the exact opposite.
Many future generations are going to face the result of these changes, specifically students pursuing a higher education. Ultimately, impacting a student’s motivation causes a significant change in the number of people who receive a higher education due to the lack of help available for families.
Many families are suffering from losing their jobs, shouldn’t the person who is supposed to “Make America Great Again” do just that?
Written By: Leslie Negrete, Opinions Editor