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Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling Discusses May Jobs Report on Yahoo Finance

September 14, 2026 · USDepartmentofLabor · 0:04:51

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Yahoo Finance noted a strong jobs report for the second month in a row, with job growth broadening across sectors rather than being carried by health care alone. Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said it was the second straight month President Trump’s economy beat job expectations: 94% of economists surveyed expected about 65,000 jobs, and the report came in at nearly double that, 115,000 jobs, while the prior month was revised up from 178,000 to 184,000, as he stated the figures.

Asked whether job growth could be sustained if energy prices stayed high, Sonderling noted Brent crude prices had come down significantly that week, said President Trump has made clear Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and said that even with the Iran situation the labor market remained strong and resilient because investments in the United States were paying off in new jobs, according to the interview.

Sonderling said construction jobs had risen two months in a row — meaning companies were buying materials and building plants — and that manufacturing jobs rose in the first quarter of the year. He cited Eli Lilly’s $4.5 billion investment in Indiana and General Motors’ $830 million in Michigan and Ohio as American jobs, and said the Labor Department was excited to assist those companies in getting skilled workers, which he said is how the economy would keep growing, as he stated it.

Why it matters

Sonderling’s Yahoo Finance appearance is the Labor Department’s case that the jobs beat is broadening into construction and manufacturing — the sectors the administration’s investment agenda is supposed to revive.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard watch: Sonderling’s cited May figures — 115,000 jobs added against roughly 65,000 expected, and the prior month revised to 184,000 — are checkable claims flagged for the scoreboard editor.

Sources: USDepartmentofLabor, “Secretary Sonderling goes on Yahoo Finance to discuss May jobs report”, 2026-09-14 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-09-14). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.