China sought to depict a call between Xi Jinping and President Trump as an appeal from one strongman leader to another to run a tight ship and stay on course.

Current and former employees at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau and other agencies say they have confidence in the numbers.

Beijing has approved more export licenses for the critical minerals and magnets in recent days, but supplies remain scarce and factories in the West are running out.

Researchers attributed some of the difficulty finding jobs to larger societal shifts, including the growing use of artificial intelligence.

The Supreme Court on Thursday made it easier for members of so-called majority groups to bring discrimination cases, but experts say the impact is likely to be limited.