The US economy is booming, expanding at a robust annual pace of 4.4% in the most recent quarter. Yet, the job market tells a starkly different story, with hiring slowing to a crawl and many Americans struggling to find work. What this really means is that the benefits of economic growth are not translating into new opportunities for workers, raising concerns about the sustainability of this recovery.
A Puzzling Paradox
Take the case of 42-year-old Jacob Trigg, a former tech project manager who has applied to over 2,000 jobs since losing his position. As the BBC reports, Trigg is "battening down the hatches" and trying to make ends meet with gig work, despite the fact that the overall economy appears to be thriving. "It's a huge surprise because I've always been able to get a job very easily," he laments.
Trigg's difficulties are emblematic of a wider freeze in the US labor market, where job openings and hiring rates have dropped to multi-year lows. Reuters reports that the US added just 181,000 jobs in 2025, the weakest performance since the COVID-19 pandemic. And in 2026 so far, the economy has managed to create only 15,000 new jobs per month on average - a far cry from the robust hiring seen in previous recoveries.
Technological Disruption or Policy Missteps?
The bigger picture here is that a confluence of factors appears to be driving this "jobless growth" phenomenon. On one hand, a recent Goldman Sachs report suggests that the rise of automation and artificial intelligence is allowing companies to do more with fewer workers. This could signal a structural shift in the economy that leaves many Americans on the sidelines.
However, the White House has pushed back, arguing that the slowdown in job creation is actually a result of its restrictive immigration policies, which have reduced the pool of available workers. The administration contends that with a smaller population, the US simply doesn't need to generate as many new jobs each month to maintain low unemployment.
Regardless of the root causes, the implications of this disconnect between economic growth and job creation are concerning. It could fuel further anxiety and political polarization, as Americans struggle to reconcile the rosy macro data with their personal experiences. Policymakers will need to grapple with this puzzle if they hope to deliver broad-based prosperity in the years ahead.