By coinnews 
00:00 Speaker A
For more insight on this morning’s jobs report, I want to welcome into the program and a first on Yahoo Finance, Labor Secretary Laurie Chavez DeRemer. Secretary, thank you so much for joining me. It’s great to have you on Yahoo Finance.
00:12 Laurie Chavez DeRemer
I’m so grateful to be here. It’s nice to be here finally. And it’s a great day for these jobs numbers, aren’t they?
00:18 Speaker A
Yeah, much stronger than expected jobs report this morning, even as we’ve been hearing, uh, sort of a wait and see approach from employers. What was your takeaway?
00:25 Laurie Chavez DeRemer
Well, we blew it out of the water last month. So this, this has not surprised me. This is exactly what I knew the president was going to do, but 40,000 more jobs, again, exceeded expectations. So, uh, this is not a wait and see anymore. The golden age is here. This is what we’re experiencing. This is what the president wanted when he put this team together. And, uh, we’re working hard to deliver for the American people.
00:44 Speaker A
I know you have been on the ground, observing the labor market firsthand, talking to employers, talking to workers. What are you hearing? What are you seeing? And how does that stack up with the official data?
00:53 Laurie Chavez DeRemer
Well, I think it’s measuring exactly to what the president said, as I’m on the ground, my 50 state tour, uh, visiting with businesses here right at the Department of Labor, uh, we’re seeing, uh, the excitement and the investment that they want to make. I mean, look at the companies that are coming and negotiating with the president. Almost $8 trillion worth of investments. That’s only going to grow the jobs market. That’s what’s key for me is to make sure that we have that skilled workforce. So as we’re on the trail, almost a half a million new jobs have already been created, uh, in this administration. And we’re going to see more and more as we, as we continue down the months ahead. So I’m excited to report on these things. And then I’m excited to go back and continue on the road and talk about these things because that’s just, um, you know, people get excited about this. They want to be investing in the workforce. And we want the American worker to know that they’re secure and they’re safe and they have jobs to choose to.
01:26 Speaker A
Sounds like you’re hearing a strong picture on the ground yourself. I’m curious, with the announcement of the tariffs, they’ve been paused most of them, but we, we do have some in place. What impact are you hearing in terms of how tariffs could impact hiring? What are you hearing from employers?
01:40 Laurie Chavez DeRemer
Well, uh, the president assembled a great trade team. When I think about, you know, the Treasury Secretary, when I think about the Commerce Secretary, when I think about the Trade Representative, their job was to negotiate with a lot of these companies to repatriate back to the United States. And then we’re seeing those investments. I mean, we saw companies stand up and say 50 billion, 500 billion. You know, even some companies that are saying, you know, I, I want to do 100 million. I want to be a part of this when we skill this workforce. Uh, the concern for the tariffs, it was a, it was fair trade practices is what the American people deserves. That’s, that’s what the, the president said he was going to do. That’s what he campaigned on. And now he’s delivering on those promises.
02:12 Speaker A
To your point this week, we heard from, uh, Commerce Secretary Howard Luttnik, who says he expects tens of thousands of jobs to be created from the reshoring of automakers, plants to the US, as well as investments from the likes of Apple, Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor. My question is, will it be a couple of years before we see the real fruits of job creation from these investments? And could there be some pain in the short term as you look to position the job market for stronger growth?
02:36 Laurie Chavez DeRemer
Well, I certainly think the Commerce Secretary is correct in the fact that as they’ve done these trade negotiations and companies are reinvesting and, and really finding confidence, uh, they need that workforce. So my job is to be on the ground and do so. As we build manufacturing, I mean think about transportation jobs are growing month over month, manufacturing jobs are growing month over month. The workforce is going to be necessary. It is my job then to follow right behind my partners in the cabinet and make sure that workforce is there. Is there going to be pain? I don’t see it as pain. I think it is positive growth for the American people. The expectation is there, and also working, I, I think about the Secretary of Energy, or I think about Congress and deregulation. We want to move things faster, and I’m going to do everything I can to have that workforce ready. So when they do their job, I come in right behind and those businesses are secure.
03:20 Speaker A
Madam Secretary, what about on the government side? We saw 9,000, uh, jobs, uh, that were cut from the federal government, um, last month. Um, we know that the DOS has been looking to cut federal government jobs. What can we expect in terms of the impact going forward when it comes to DOS’s cuts? Because this seems like sort of a minimal amount, if you will.
03:48 Laurie Chavez DeRemer
Well, the mission of DOS was to streamline, modernize, you know, have, uh, do more for less. Uh, and that’s what we’re seeing. But when you’re talking about negative impacts, there isn’t one because what we’re seeing is an increase in a lot of the, the local, uh, public officials growing. So closer to the people, I was a former mayor, being as close to the people as possible is what’s key. So yes, the federal workforce is, is on the decline, but the private sector, uh, workforce is increasing, and the local sector of public, uh, workforce is increasing. So, you know, this is all positive. We see no pain, we see no disappointment. These are, these are good numbers. This is a good day for America. This is a good day for the American worker.
04:25 Speaker A
Madam Secretary, I want to ask you about, the ports have been warning that we could see a drop in cargo that is imported to this country because of the tariffs that were announced on April 2nd. Uh, they’re talking about the potential of some goods that could be harder to come by, the potential for shortages this summer. Uh, what steps is the administration taking to guard against this sort of risk?
04:48 Laurie Chavez DeRemer
Well, certainly, um, anything is going to be better than the past administration when we saw, you know, uh, uh, post COVID and we saw all, all the, the issues that were happening in the ports. That is not the goal of this president is to make sure that we have, uh, the resources that are needed. I just visited the Port of Miami to see what they’re investing in. They want to make sure that we’re moving goods and services as needed so that we can, uh, have more confidence for the American worker and for the American business to get their goods and services out. And again, uh, the American workforce can grow, and American businesses can be, um, confident that they’re going to, that their investments are going to be secure. That’s what the president’s job is, and that’s what he’s done. And, uh, I will tell you, working for this president, assembled with this team, um, the golden ages, again, it is among us.
05:31 Speaker A
And before I let you go, this week we did see the administration offer some tariff rebates for automakers as they look to reshore their factories here in the US. So kind of offering them some relief over the next couple of years. Could we see the same relief offered for other industries and for other companies, especially those who are sourcing from China? We know so much production, uh, comes from China as companies look to hopefully reshore here in the US.
05:53 Laurie Chavez DeRemer
Well, fair trade practices again, what the president was looking for, and as he’s assembled that trade team, I’m not part of the trade team. Um, so the conversations about rebates, uh, that’ll be amongst them, but I know that the president has a plan. He does a wonderful job at doing. He’s a master negotiator, as we’ve seen, and that’s why you’re seeing these companies reinvest, uh, for these fair trade practices. And at the end of the day, we’re going to see our American workforce grow and people are going to keep more of their hard earned dollars as we continue to upskill and reskill our American worker. I, um, this is the greatest job that I’ve ever had, working for this president. Um, but as we see these numbers, we know we’re doing the right thing.
06:25 Speaker A
Madam Secretary, thank you so much for your insights. So appreciate it. I hope to speak with you again soon.
06:30 Laurie Chavez DeRemer
So nice. Nice to be here. I look forward to it.