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The US jobs market stalled over the summer, adding just 22,000 jobs in August and continuing a slowdown in the labor market as businesses adjusted to disruptions caused by tariffs.

The latest jobs report also contained more bad news. The US lost 13,000 jobs in June, according to the latest survey.

The unemployment rate for August inched up to 4.3%, the highest it’s been since 2021.

The closely watched data comes from a monthly survey of employers conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which has been under attack from Donald Trump after it revised its findings last month, showing that hiring in early summer was much weaker than initially reported.

Last month the BLS slashed the number of new jobs created in May and June by by more than 250,000. The figures – revised when the bureau received more reports from businesses and government agencies – showed hiring over the summer was far weaker than first reported. The revised figures for May and June were 19,000 and 14,000, respectively – the lowest since the pandemic.

Those figurees were revised again this month. The BLS revised June’s tally down by 27,000, from +14,000 to -13,000, and the change for July was revised up by 6,000, from +73,000 to +79,000. Employment in June and July combined was 21,000 lower than previously reported.

Though Trump claimed the revisions were “rigged in order to make the Republicans, and me, look bad”, August’s figures show that the slumped pattern has continued even after Trump fired the bureau’s commissioner in retaliation. Trump has nominated a conservative ally who helped write Project 2025 as the bureau’s commissioner, leaving many economists worried about the future of the bureau.

And data from other sources besides the bureau has also highlighted stagnation in the labor market. Payroll firm ADP reported Thursday that private employers added 54,000 jobs in August, nearly 20,000 below expectations. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas also reported that job cuts reached 85,979 in August – up 39% from July and up 13% compared with August 2024.

“The year started with strong job growth, but that momentum has been whipsawed by uncertainty. A variety of things could explain the hiring slowdown, including labor shortages, skittish consumers and AI disruption,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP.

The Federal Reserve has been monitoring the labor market for signs that it may need to adjust interest rates. At his speech at the Fed’s Jackson Hole, Wyoming, symposium last month, Fed chair Jerome Powell seemed to hint that officials were leaning toward a rate cut at their next meeting on 17 September.

Though Wall Street investors have been waiting for the Fed’s next rate cut, which would be its first since December, the next cut will likely come with caveats. Powell emphasized that it’s still unclear what impact Trump’s tariffs and immigration policies will have on the economy.

“There is significant uncertainty about where all of these policies will eventually settle and what their lasting effects on the economy will be,” he said.

Powell warned that while there are new jobs being added each month, “the downside risks to employment are rising. And if those materialize, they can do so quickly in the form of sharply higher layoffs and rising unemployment.”

MENA on its way to being a sustainability leader

Oman is pushing ahead with localizing sustainable green hydrogen production, with nine major initiatives in the provinces of Al-Wusta and Dhofar receiving about $50 billion in planned investment. This forms part of a broader dynamic across the Middle East and North Africa region, driven by the urgency of economic diversification, climate resilience and global sustainability. As such, countries in the region are demonstrating a growing commitment to renewable energy, accelerating green technology efforts with bold ambition and a visionary approach.

Oman aims to produce 1 million tonnes of low-carbon molecules annually by 2030. Achieving this goal will require about 40 million solar panels and up to 3,000 wind turbines — equipment that will triple the country’s current grid capacity. The Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technology has also set a target of having 22,000 electric vehicles on the road in Oman by 2030, alongside the country’s 2050 net-zero goals.

To meet these objectives, Oman is already deploying vast volumes of solar panels, wind turbines, electrolyzers and other essential hardware needed to achieve its green hydrogen ambitions. The nine large-scale green hydrogen and green ammonia projects across the Al-Wusta and Dhofar governorates are currently in early development. Together, these projects are expected to produce about 1.5 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually from 2030.

Oman is also strengthening its partnerships and strategic agreements. During Oman Sustainability Week 2025 in May, OQ, the global energy investment group, signed 13 strategic renewable energy agreements totaling more than $2 billion to boost the country’s sustainability efforts.

There is a trend across many MENA countries toward initiatives in sustainability and energy security

Zaid M. Belbagi

Oman is not the only country in the region moving toward green energy and sustainability. This is part of a broader trend across many MENA countries toward initiatives in sustainability and energy security.

Nations such as Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan are reshaping global green energy development. In these countries, intermediate and finished goods for export are increasingly powered, either partially or entirely, by renewable energy. As a result, the MENA region is poised to become a global leader in renewable energy production and a key hub for green supply chains.

Morocco’s energy strategy is firmly oriented toward green development, with its leading projects including the Noor solar complexes and the Tarfaya wind farm. Leila Benali, Morocco’s minister of energy transition and sustainable development, unveiled in 2023 the ambitious $2.4 billion plan to produce 52 percent of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

The kingdom also aims to position itself as a future global leader in green hydrogen production, supported by a highly ambitious business ecosystem. In this context, Neo Motors, the first “Made in Morocco” car manufacturer, plans to launch internationally the first vehicle powered entirely by green hydrogen.

The Gulf countries are also at the forefront of the energy transition. Kuwait has launched the innovative Shagaya renewable energy project, marking the first phase of an ambitious plan to generate 3.2 gigawatts of electricity from green sources by 2030. A $3.27 billion agreement was last month inked by the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects with Gulf Investment Corporation and ACWA Power for the second and third phases of the Al-Zour North power plant.

The UAE places the energy transition at the core of its national and regional strategies, aiming to generate 75 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2050. For example, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Solar Park stands as the largest single-site solar park in the world, based on the independent power producer model. By 2030, it is expected to reach a production capacity of 5,000 megawatts and attract investments of about $13.6 billion. Once completed, it will reduce carbon emissions by more than 6.5 million tonnes annually.

A broader regional vision must also be embedded in future agendas to overcome persistent challenges

Zaid M. Belbagi

These investments and initiatives highlight the region’s remarkable capabilities. According to the Middle East Solar Industry Association’s Solar Outlook Report 2025, the MENA region’s solar capacity could exceed 180 GW by 2030. In 2024 alone, installed capacity reached 24 GW, a 25 percent increase from the previous year.

By late 2023, the region already possessed 53 GW of renewable energy potential and it set a target of 150 GW by the end of the decade, of which approximately 75 GW will come from solar photovoltaic projects. Wind and hydrogen will serve as complementary sources to meet this ambitious goal.

For now, most efforts remain at the national level, with each country advancing toward its 2030 or 2050 sustainability objectives. However, setting the 75 GW target creates a framework for accountability, driving the need for skilled workers, fostering joint initiatives, encouraging regional partnerships and paving the way for expansion across the entire region.

The ambition is clear: MENA is advancing toward becoming a global leader in sustainability, supported by its abundant resources. What will drive this progress further is regional partnerships and joint initiatives contributing to a fully integrated green power network across the region.

Domestic efforts remain crucial, as the growing focus on renewables continues to attract international investors. However, a broader regional vision must also be embedded in future agendas to overcome persistent challenges, including high costs and technological barriers.

Looking ahead, MENA’s proven commitment to sustainability and innovation signals a promising trajectory for the region’s transition to a new energy economy.

• Zaid M. Belbagi is a political commentator and an adviser to private clients between London and the Gulf Cooperation Council. X: @Moulay_Zaid

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News’ point of view