TRUMP ON JOBS REPORT: Job growth is 'going to continue, big league'
The release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the US economy added 227,000 jobs in the month of January. Wage growth disappointed, however, and the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.8%.
Trump took a moment during a meeting with the President's Strategic and Policy Forum to address the numbers, expressing his pleasure.
"227,000 jobs, great spirit in the country right now," said Trump, talking about the headline job gains for the month of January. "I think it's going to continue, big league."
White House press secretary Sean Spicer was also asked at his daily press briefing what percentage of the 227,000 jobs added should be attributable to Trump, since the BLS survey fell under President Barack Obama's tenure.
"I think when you look at the confidence indexes - I'm not going to get into it because unfortunately we don't have that kind of breakdown," Spicer said. "I think you've seen the actions he's taken - whether it's Carrier or some of the other companies, whether it's Sprint or Softbank - clearly there is a desire for companies to be part of this Trump agenda."
Spicer was referring to increases in business and consumer-sentiment indexes, which have jumped after the election. Harder data, such as the jobs report, has not yet picked up nearly as much as the surveys.
Spicer did say he's "not a liberty to parse the BLS" but Trump is "pleased with the numbers" from the Friday jobs report.
While this is the first report to be released since Trump came into office, the survey by the BLS took place from January 9 to 13. The uptick in business sentiment following the election and whether it led to hiring has also been up for debate.
Trump has made job growth a central part of his economic agenda. He has battled with companies' attempts to move factories out of the US and has promised to be one of the "best jobs presidents" ever.