ICYMI: Layoffs Soar as Trump’s Disastrous Economic Agenda Shatters Job Market for Working Montanans
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 12, 2026
CONTACT
press@montanademocrats.org
Helena, MT – Today’s jobs report shows a weakening job market under Donald Trump, with the economy adding just 50,000 jobs, and 2025 seeing the slowest monthly average job growth since 2003, excluding recessions. Manufacturing jobs continue to bleed, with the sector losing 8,000 jobs in November — the eighth straight month of losses — bringing total manufacturing job losses under Trump to 63,000. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate has declined.
In response to the weak December jobs report, Justin Ailport, Montana Democratic Party interim executive director, released the following statement:
“Just eleven months of Donald Trump have thrown the job market into chaos. Montana job cuts are skyrocketing, hiring has slowed, and unemployment is still high — and working Montana families are being squeezed as prices continue to soar. Take a look around: Our economy is in shambles, and Montanans are struggling. And what is Trump doing? Running a foreign country bankrolled off Montanans’ hard-earned dollars. The message is clear: Trump will always put Montanans last.”
Under Trump, working Montanans are finding it harder than ever before to land a job. Earlier this week, the December Challenger report revealed that in 2025, US employers announced 1,206,374 job cuts — the highest level since 2020, and the seventh highest annual total since 1989. In the fourth quarter, employers announced plans to cut 259,948, the highest fourth-quarter total since 2008.
A reminder: Trump promised to deliver an economic ‘golden age’ to Montanans, but all he has done is sling Montana’s economy through the mud to enrich billionaires. Now, Montana families are grappling with the economic pain caused by Trump’s toxic agenda.
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