‘Good News’: CNBC’s Rick Santelli Touts Better Than Expected Jobs Report Under Trump

CNBC’s Rick Santelli praised the new jobs reports Friday that significantly exceeded economists’ expectations.

U.S. employers added 177,000 jobs in April, exceeding the expected 133,000 jobs predicted by economists, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Santelli said that the new report, which included the unemployment rate and earnings at a year-over-year rate, is “good news.”

“Here we go! The jobs, jobs, jobs report for April hitting the wires, non-farm payrolls, a greater 177,000!” Santelli said on “Squawk Box.” “We were expecting, as Joe [Kernen] pointed out, 133,000. 177,000 would be the second best of the year outside a woods in the rearview mirror, which was 228,000. That becomes 185,000 because the two month adjustment is minus 58,000.”

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The unemployment rate remained at 4.2% and the average hourly earnings for all non-farm payrolls rose by 6 cents compared to March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average workweek for all employees added up to 34.3 hours, which did not change from March.

“Now, let’s go to the huge three. The unemployment rate remains at 4.2%. Let’s look at the average monthly earnings on a month-over-month basis, it’s expected up, three tenths comes in light. Three tenths of a percent equally in February, to find a smaller number, you have to go all the way back to August 2023. Now let’s look at earnings on a year-over-year basis, also one tenth light, 3.8%. We were looking for 3.9%. 3.8% equals the rearview mirror. And if we look at the workweek, the hours worked, all employees, 34.3, that’s good news! We up-ticked it one tick than what we were expecting, that was 34.2.”

Santelli also celebrated the labor force participation rate, which rose to 62.6 percent.

Democrats have attempted to claim that Trump has damaged the economy by imposing reciprocal tariffs on foreign countries, which are currently on a 90-day pause. In addition to the latest job report, the consumer price index (CPI) eased in March by increasing 2.4%, which was lower than economists’ expectations.