Critics mock Hassett, who excluded NY and California from inflation, for jobs report spin

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett drew ridicule for claiming July's weak jobs report looked positive if excluding World Cup and government workers, citing a 100,000 gain. The US economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised May and June down by 103,000. Unemployment stood at 4.1%, and 264,000 people left the workforce. Experts had expected about 100,000 new jobs. Hassett previously suggested excluding New York and California from inflation data and blamed high layoffs in December 2025 on pollsters' survey methods.