States begin to see job losses from Trump’s cuts, housing and spending slowdowns

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Virginia lost 43,000 jobs in Q2, the most in the nation.

Federal contract cuts and factory closures drive Virginia layoffs.

New Jersey shed 15,400 jobs, led by retail and pharma losses.

State unemployment rises as fiscal pressures signal economic fragility.

Virginia and New Jersey may be among the states most affected by the hiring slowdown that enraged President Donald Trump when it appeared in an Aug. 1 jobs report showing the United States had 258,000 fewer jobs than initially reported in May and June.

Such revisions to earlier reports are based on more up-to-date payroll data and are routine. But the scale in this case was shocking — showing the smallest monthly job gains since pandemic-era December 2020 and the largest jobs revision, outside recessions, si