JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon claimed on Tuesday the US economy “is weakening” after the Labor Department slashed nearly 1 million jobs from its initial employment estimates for the year ending March 2025.
The head of the nation’s largest bank told CNBC that the “big revision” by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to lower its non-farm payrolls data by 911,000 pointed to stuttering US growth.
“I think the economy is weakening,” Dimon said at an event to mark the opening of the banking giant’s new $3 billion Manhattan HQ. “Whether it’s on the way to recession or just weakening, I don’t know.”
“There’s a lot of different factors in the economy right now,” he added, pointing to weakening consumer spending while citing strong corporate profits.
The long-serving CEO also forecast that the Federal Reserve will “probably” reduce its key interest rate when central bankers meet later this month.
Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets said the revision painted “a much weaker portrait of the job market than initially thought. While the revision doesn’t say much about what has happened since March, it suggests the labor market had less momentum heading into the trade war. And, recent data suggest the market has downshifted further.”
Figures released earlier this summer indicated employment growth had slowed to a near halt in July, adding just 73,000 jobs.
That report prompted President Donald Trump to fire the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief Erika McEntarfer, alleging that her numbers had been “manipulated for political purposes.”
On Friday, the bureau said the economy generated just 22,000 jobs in August, raising fears that unpredictable taxes on imports have created so much uncertainty that businesses are reluctant to hire.
Nevertheless, official US government figures released at the end of last month by the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimate that the economy grew by 3.3% in the second quarter of 2025, marking a strong rebound from the 0.5% decrease in the first three months of this year.
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