The August labour market figures from the United States confirm what has been building for months: the world’s largest economy is slowing in ways that can no longer be brushed aside as statistical noise. Employers added a mere 22,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate inched upward to 4.3 per cent. More alarming was the revelation that June actually saw a net job loss, the first since the pandemic.

For a country that has prided itself on its post-Covid recovery, this is a warning bell that should not be ignored. The fragility of the labour market is not an accident of business cycles alone. It reflects the deliberate policy choices made in Washington. Sweeping tariffs, a sharp turn on immigration, and significant cuts in government payrolls have converged to squeeze both supply and demand. Manufacturing has endured four consecutive months of losses, construction has faltered, and even the........

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