By PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Job openings in the United States fell in March as President Donald Trump’s trade wars clouded the economic outlook.

U.S. employers posted 7.2 million vacancies in March, down from 7.5 million in February and 8.1 million in March 2024, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. It was the fewest number of openings since September and below the 7.5 million that economists had forecast.

But the department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary also showed that the number of Americans quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in the economy — rose modestly. And layoffs fell to the lowest level since June.

Openings remain high by historical standards but have fallen steadily since peaking at 12.1 million in March 2022 when the economy was still bouncing back from COVID-19.

The American job market has proven remarkably resilient. Companies, nonprofits and government agencies continued hire in the face of high interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve to combat a resurgence of inflation.

The economic outlook is uncertain, largely because of Trump’s policies — huge taxes on imports, purges of federal workers and the deportation of immigrants working in the United States illegally.

Still, federal job cuts by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency didn’t have much impact in the March numbers; federal layoffs actually dipped to 8,000 from February’s 19,000, which had been the most since November 2020.

“The job market is continuing to hold its own, but barely,” said Robert Frick, economist with the Navy Federal Credit Union. “While job openings dropped below forecasts, they haven’t hit a post-COVID low.

“Hiring holds steady and layoffs dipped a bit, showing that, overall, employers are clinging to the employees they have. But this is likely the calm before the storm, as layoffs are pending in government contractors and manufacturers, and other sectors affected by government layoffs and tariffs.”

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ confidence in the economy slumped for the fifth straight month to the lowest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as anxiety over the impact of tariffs takes a heavy toll.

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The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.9 points in April to 86, its lowest reading since May 2020. Nearly one-third of consumers expect hiring to slow in the coming months, nearly matching the level reached in April 2009, when the economy was mired in the Great Recession.

The figures reflect a rapidly souring mood among Americans, most of whom expect prices to rise because of the widespread tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. About half of Americans are also worried about the potential for a recession, according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center.

“Rattled consumers spend less than confident consumers,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, in an email. “If confidence sags and consumers retrench, growth will go down.”

A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market plunged 12.5 points to 54.4, the lowest level in more than 13 years. The reading is well below 80, which typically signals a recession ahead.

How this gloomy mood translates into spending, hiring, and growth will become clearer in the coming days and weeks. On Wednesday, the government will report on U.S. economic growth during the first three months of the year, and economists are expecting a sharp slowdown as Americans pulled back on spending after a strong winter holiday shopping season.

And on Friday the Labor Department will release its latest report on hiring and the unemployment rate. Overall, economists expect it should still show steady job gains, though some forecast it could report sharply reduced hiring.

The stark decline in consumer confidence also likely reflected the sharp swings in stock and bond prices that roiled financial markets earlier this month. While all age groups and most income brackets reported lower confidence, the decline was steepest among households earning more than $125,000 and among consumers 35 to 55 years old.

Though major U.S. markets rebounded over the past week, the S&P 500 is still down 6% for the year and the Dow Jones has lost 5%. The growth-heavy Nasdaq is down 10% in 2025.

The Conference Board said that mentions of tariffs in write-in responses reached an all-time high this month, with the duties on the top of consumers’ minds. Trump has imposed a tariff of 10% on nearly all imports, as well as a huge 145% tariff on most goods from China. He has imposed separate import taxes on steel, aluminum, and cars.

More Americans are also now worried that the economy could tip into a recession, with the proportion of consumers expecting a downturn in the next 12 months reaching a two-year high.

Fewer consumers said they were planning to buy a home or car in the next six months. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed last month in a lackluster start to the spring homebuying season as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices discouraged those looking.

And Americans also said they would spend less on services. The proportion of Americans planning an overseas vacation in the next six months fell to 16.4%, down from 24.1% in December. And the proportion of consumers planning to spend more on dining out plummeted by nearly the most on record in April, the Conference Board said.

By LISA MASCARO, Associated Press Congressional Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has frozen, stalled or otherwise disrupted some $430 billion in federal funds — from disease research to Head Start for children to disaster aid — in what top Democrats say is an “unprecedented and dangerous” assault on programs used by countless Americans.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut on Tuesday released an online tracker that is compiling all the ways President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency are interrupting the flow of federal funds, often going up against the law.

“Instead of investing in the American people, President Trump is ignoring our laws and ripping resources away,” said Murray and DeLauro, who are the top Democrats on the Appropriations committees in Congress.

“No American president has ever so flagrantly ignored our nation’s spending laws or so brazenly denied the American people investments they are owed,” they said.

President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The tally is far from complete or exhaustive, the lawmakers said, but a snapshot in time. It comes in a rapidly changing political and legal environment as the Trump administration faces dozens of lawsuits from state and local governments, advocacy organizations, employees and others fighting to keep programs intact.

At 100 days into Trump’s return to the presidency, the project showcases the extent to which the White House is blocking money that Congress has already approved, touching off a constitutional battle between the executive and legislative branches that has real world ramifications for the communities the lawmakers serve.

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The White House and its Republican allies in Congress have said they are working to root out waste, fraud and abuse in government. The Trump administration is in court fighting to keep many of the administration’s cuts even as Musk, whose own popularity has dropped, says he will be cycling off DOGE’s day-to-day work.

And Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget intends to soon send Congress a $9 billion rescissions package, to claw back funds through cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development and others.

Murray and DeLauro said they want to “shine a light on President Trump’s vast, illegal funding freeze and how it is hurting people in every zip code in America.” They said it’s time for Trump and Musk “to end this unprecedented and dangerous campaign.”

While Republicans have also stirred with concerns about Trump’s spending cuts, many are reluctant to do so publicly as they try to avoid Trump’s reactions. Instead, they tend to work behind the scenes to restore federal dollars to their home states or other constituencies that have been put at risk by Trump’s actions.

The powerful Appropriations committees in the House and the Senate, where Republicans have majority control of both chambers, draft the annual funding bills that are ultimately approved by Congress and sent to the president’s desk for his signature to become law.

Minnesota United made the addition of Julian Gressel official on Tuesday morning.

The 31-year-old right-sided player did not play for Inter Miami this season and his skills will help fill needs for the Loons. He is under contract through 2026, with a club option for 2027.

“If you were to sort of script the type of player that we need,” MNUFC coach Eric Ramsay said. He also called Gressel “a serial winner” and “a steady character.”

Gressel has played 245 matches in MLS, winning MLS Cup with Atlanta, Columbus and the Supporters Shield with Miami last seasonA year ago, he totaled nine assists and one goal in 2,340 MLS minutes. Gressel’s lack of playing time this year was a decision from new coach Javier Mascherano.

How Loons got him

This acquisition was not a intra-league trade nor the new for-cash transfer, but rather Miami waiving Gressel and the Loons claiming his rights.

MLS rules state: “If a player with a guaranteed contract is waived, any interested MLS club will have 48 hours from the notice of Waivers to claim the player by notifying the League of the intention to claim the player and the amount of the player’s Salary Budget Charge they wish to assume. The player will be awarded based on a number of factors, including but not limited to, Waiver Order and which club is willing to absorb a Salary Budget Charge that is meaningfully higher than other clubs and at least $15,000 higher than Senior Minimum Salary.”

Gressel made $1.09 million in guaranteed compensation with Miami in 2024, according to the MLS Players Association. This move will bring down his salary for MNUFC, but where it comes down between what he was earning and the senior minimum ($104,000) won’t be known until this year’s MLSPA numbers are released.

Best position?

Gressel has not played for Miami this season, but a year ago he was primarily a right wing or right midfielder as Inter won the Supporters Shield. In 2023, he finished that season at wingback as Columbus Crew won MLS Cup.

Ramsay was noncommittal on Gressel’s best spot in Minnesota, but narrowed it down to right wingback or a right-sided central midfielder, or No. 8, which would help with Hassani Dotson sidelined months with a knee injury

“I feel like the plus point for (Gressel) is that he can do both,” Ramsay said. “I think he’s a player that does take a lot of pride in his versatility, from the conversation I had with him.”

Ramsay said if the club isn’t going to fill all its senior-roster spots, then versatility within the squad is a bigger necessity. If Gressel can fill in at right wingback, Ramsay said a “knockdown effect” would be current right wingback Bongi Hlongwane might spend time at his more-natural position, forward.

“I wouldn’t say, difficulties that we have on that (right) side, but … it’s an obvious point in our squad where you’d say that we between right-sided (No. 8) and wingback, having lost Hassani,  we could do with some options and competition and depth,” Ramsay said.

Ramsay also sees Gressel providing right-footed service on set pieces, something the team doesn’t currently have in the cupboard.

Known commodity

One of the Loons best teams — the 2019 edition — was constructed, in part, from within MLS with Ozzie Alonso coming from Seattle and Ike Opara from Kansas City. The Gressel move is from that same playbook from within the league.

It’s the opposite of how the Loons tried to add diminutive right back Matus Kmet from Slovakia last summer. He never fit and is out on loan in Poland this season.

“That’s really important for us, that we we want to bring players in that you can say with certainty are going to have a level of influence on the team’s success,” Ramsay said. “… The fact that he’s not played for five or six months with any real regularity, doesn’t seem like it’ll be an issue. I think he’s a guy who will have looked after himself really well and should be able to hit the ground running.”