America shed 68,000 manufacturing jobs through 2025 as tariff policies rolled out—a stark reminder of how trade tensions ripple through labor markets. When manufacturing contracts, unemployment pressures typically build, forcing central banks to recalibrate monetary policy. This dynamic matters to traders: softer employment data could shift Fed expectations around rate cuts, alter inflation trajectories, and ultimately reshape capital allocation patterns. Watch how mainstream markets digest this—the spillover effects usually show up in macro asset prices first, followed by rebalancing into alternative assets. For those tracking macro cycles, these labor market shifts are breadcrumbs worth following.