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If you’re struggling to find a job, you have tariffs to blame — at least according to Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics.

On May 4, Zandi took to X to show the impacts of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the U.S. economy since Liberation Day on April 2, 2025 (1). He even posted a graph comparing job growth and inflation rates since January 2025.

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The graph showed that rates were relatively stable in the months leading up to Liberation Day — before getting worse by September.

“The trend lines don’t look good, especially as the economic fallout from the Iran War hits with full force,” Zandi wrote. “The U.S. economy is resilient, but just how resilient is set to be tested.”

But is he right? Here are the numbers Zandi’s most concerned about — and what they could mean for you.

Zandi’s graph focuses on two stats: average monthly job growth and the year-over-year change of Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation. It shows that since Liberation Day, the number of jobs added each month has mostly been decreasing, while inflation has mostly been increasing.

“Since that day, job growth has come to a standstill, with only the non-traded healthcare industry adding meaningfully to payrolls,” he wrote.

“Also, since that day, inflation has accelerated,” Zandi added.

Zandi isn’t the only economist to focus on jobs and inflation as key economic indicators. The Federal Reserve uses unemployment rates and Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation to determine how it changes its rates, as keeping employment high and prices stable is the Fed’s dual mandate (2).

The Fed aims for a 2% inflation rate; however, as of April 2026, the CPI inflation rate was 3.8% (3).

Unemployment is faring better than inflation, at 4.3% in April (4). The Fed doesn’t have a specific unemployment rate it aims for, but 4.3% is considered low (5) — not something to worry about on its own.

Job growth tells a different story. After Liberation Day, the average number of jobs added per month started plummeting. In the past six months, more months saw the total number of jobs shrink than grow (1).

This, along with rising inflation, could indicate an economy struggling to grow under heavy tariff costs. It could also be why it’s hard to find another job if you lose yours: There just aren’t very many open jobs to take.

Read More: Non-millionaires can now hoard property like the 1% — how to start with as little as $100

In February 2026, the Supreme Court declared much of Trump's tariff policy unconstitutional. But Trump is already planning on instituting new tariffs (6). Moreover, the Iran war is also causing problems for the economy, raising the price of oil and other goods like groceries.

“The higher energy and other commodity prices caused by the war threaten to do even more economic damage than the tariffs,” wrote Zandi in his post.

But this isn’t the first time Zandi has sounded the alarm on tariffs. In fact, he’s been warning about the economic impact of tariffs since April 2025, before they were put in place.

“There’s no good case here,” Zandi said in an April 2025 interview with CNN, when talking about what impact the tariffs could have (7). “It’s just variations on a dark theme.”

In April 2026, Zandi also started warning about a possible downturn based on a new model by Moody’s called the Vicious Cycle Index (VCI) (8). If he’s right about a downturn, then the job market and price increases could get worse than they already are.

As Zandi’s new model indicates, it could be a vicious cycle: A worse job market and high inflation mean less spending, which means layoffs, and the cycle repeats.

With so much economic uncertainty, the damage to the economy could also take a toll on your retirement fund. The thing to do when the markets are rocky is diversify — and there are a number of options available for savvy investors.

One of the go-to hedges against inflation is gold — its historic run in 2025 proves how attractive its ability to store value is when the stock market outlook is poor.

Gold hit a record price of $5,589.38 on January 28 of this year (9), but some financial gurus predict its price will eventually surpass the previous record. As Robert Kiyosaki posted on X just before gold hit its top price, “GOLD soars over $5000. Yay!!!! Future for gold $27,000 (10).”

In light of the U.S. war with Iran, however, not everybody is quite so bullish on the yellow metal. Global gold prices stumbled amid the outbreak of the war, though the uneasy ceasefire has brought a sunnier outlook back to the market.

For example, Swiss bank Union Bancaire Privée readjusted its gold forecast to $6,000 per ounce before the end of the year, as reported by Bloomberg in April (11). While that isn’t the $27,000 predicted by Kiyosaki, it would still represent an all-time high.

With these kinds of projections, now could be a good time to take advantage of the potential growth of gold by investing your retirement fund in a gold IRA.

Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, which combines the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainty.

Priority Gold is an industry leader in precious metals, offering physical delivery of both gold and silver. Plus, they have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and a 5-star rating from Trust Link.

Additionally, if you’d like to convert an existing IRA into a gold IRA, Priority Gold offers 100% free rollover, as well as free shipping and free storage for up to five years. Qualifying purchases can also receive up to $10,000 in free silver.

To learn more about how Priority Gold can help you reduce inflation’s impact on your nest egg, download their free 2026 gold investor bundle.

The balance of power may be swinging toward buyers in the housing market, but there are still growth-oriented investments to be had in 2026.

While Forbes reports that growth in single-family home prices has slowed considerably over the past year (12), there are a number of emerging markets for multifamily homes that are showing positive growth, especially in the southeast of the country (13).

In a report prepared by JPMorgan Chase, Al Brooks — the firm’s vice chair of Commercial Banking — is quoted saying that “I think multifamily housing is absolutely where you want to be as an investor (14).”

Accredited investors can now tap into this opportunity through platforms such as Lightstone DIRECT, which gives accredited investors access to single-asset multifamily and industrial deals.

Lightstone DIRECT’s direct-to-investor model ensures a high degree of alignment between individual investors and a vertically-integrated, institutional owner-operator — a sophisticated and streamlined option for individual investors looking to diversify into private-market real estate.

With Lightstone DIRECT, accredited individuals can access the same multifamily and industrial assets Lightstone pursues with its own capital, with minimum investments starting at $100,000.

Real estate investors can also tap into the short-term rental market, an area that may see increased demand, as the U.S. Travel Association reports that spending on domestic travel in the U.S. is projected to grow this year — and keep growing through 2027 (15).

That’s why 2026 might be a great year to get into this market by investing in shares of vacation homes or rental properties through Arrived.

Backed by world-class investors, including Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties, earning a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with being a landlord of your own rental property.

To get started, simply browse through their selection of vetted properties, each picked for their potential appreciation and income generation. Once you choose a property, you can start investing with as little as $100, potentially earning monthly dividends.

For a limited time, when you open an account and add $1,000 or more, Arrived will credit your account with a 1% match.

But real estate is not the only alternative asset — something is missing from traditional portfolios.

In a period of heightened market volatility, data suggests stocks and bonds alone may be less reliable for consistent long-term growth. As alternative investments become more accessible and attractive, more investors are seeking smarter ways to diversify.

Now, Masterworks is offering a single investment that combines blue-chip art with other scarce assets, such as gold and bitcoin, which have historically moved independently of equities and of one another.

The result is a more balanced, all-weather approach to alternative investing. In fact, this model would have outperformed the S&P 500 by 3.1x from 2017 to 2025.*

By leveraging access to museum-quality artwork alongside other uncorrelated assets, the strategy aims to enhance diversification while still pursuing meaningful appreciation.

Discover how diversifying with this strategy can strengthen your portfolio for the years ahead.

*Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. The 3.1x figure reflects a model backtest, not actual fund performance.

— With files from Kit Pulliam

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We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

@Markzandi (1),(8); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (2); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (3),(4); Center for Economic and Policy Research (5); @FOX32Chicago (6); CNN (7); Investing News Network (9); @theRealKiyosaki (10); Bloomberg (11); Forbes (12); Multi-Housing News (13); JPMorgan Chase (14); U.S. Travel Association (15)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.