Watch CNBC’s full interview with Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling

THE EXCHANGE THE NASDAQ COMPOSITE ALONG WITH SHARES OF NVIDIA, CROWDSTRIKE, PALO ALTO AND AMD ALL HITTING NEW RECORD HIGHS TODAY. THE NASDAQ IS CURRENTLY UP 1.2%, THIS AFTER THE U.S. ADDED JUST 29,000 JOBS LAST MONTH AND PRIOR GAINS WERE REVISED DOWN. ALL OF THIS HAS THE ODDS OF A FED HIKE FALLING. WE HAVE 20%, BARELY OF AN OCTOBER HIKE NOW IN TERMS OF THE ODDS, DOWN FROM 75% YESTERDAY. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, THOUGH, THAT'S NOT HELPING THE TEN YEAR YIELD DECLINE TODAY. OUR TEN YEAR UP TO 527 RIGHT NOW, EVEN AS WE SEE GLOBAL YIELDS CALMING DOWN TOO. WE'LL GET INTO ALL OF THAT IN JUST A BIT. PLUS, MARISSA MAYER IS HERE TO DAZZLE US WITH HER NEW APP. I'VE TRIED IT OUT AND IT'S PRETTY SLICK, BUT HOW CAN IT COMPETE WITH THE GROWING ARRAY OF PERSONAL AGENTS LIKE MUSE? THAT'S COMING UP LATER THIS HOUR? BUT LET'S BEGIN WITH THAT JOBS REPORT. WEAKER THAN EXPECTED. JUST 29,000 JOBS ADDED LAST MONTH, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISING TO 4.2%. AND WE ARE JOINED EXCLUSIVELY RIGHT NOW BY THE BRAND NEW U.S. LABOR SECRETARY, KEITH SONDERLING. I THINK ON YOUR FIRST OH, NO. YESTERDAY IT WAS YOUR FIRST OFFICIAL DAY ON THE JOB. CONGRATULATIONS. REPLACING LAURIE CHAVEZ. DEREMER I THINK OF HIM SAYING THAT IT CORRECTLY. MR. SECRETARY, IT IS GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE. WELCOME. >> HEY, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. AND YES, THIS IS MY FIRST INTERVIEW, NOT AS ACTING SECRETARY OF LABOR, BUT THE SECRETARY OF LABOR, VERY GRATEFUL TO THE U.S. SENATE FOR CONFIRMING ME THIS WEEK. AND, OF COURSE, THE PRESIDENT TRUMP'S TRUST AND CONFIDENCE IN ME OF NOMINATING ME FOR THE LABOR SECRETARY. >> I LOOKED INTO YOUR BACKGROUND A LITTLE BIT. SOUNDS LIKE KIND OF A LAWYER BY TRAINING, YOU'D SPENT SOME TIME, YOU KNOW, IN THE OFFICE, I GUESS, IN THAT AREA DOING SOME WORK. AND, AND YOU'VE GOT YOUR HANDS FULL WHEN IT COMES TO THE U.S. LABOR MARKET. SO TOP LEVEL AND UP UNTIL YESTERDAY, WE THOUGHT THE NARRATIVE WAS JOB GROWTH WAS PICKING UP SOME STEAM. NOW TODAY WE'RE NOT SO SURE. CAN YOU GIVE US ANY MORE GRANULARITY? MAYBE YOU GET ACCESS TO MORE SLICING AND DICING OF THE INFO. OR MAYBE IT'S ALL IN THIS COMPREHENSIVE BLS REPORT. BUT BUT HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THINGS RIGHT NOW? >> WELL, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT. AND FIRST OF ALL, IN PRESIDENT TRUMP'S SECOND TERM, THERE'S BEEN 1 MILLION NEW PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS CREATED. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE PROMISED THAT HE WOULD REVITALIZE THE PRIVATE SECTOR, BRING BACK JOBS THAT WERE SHIPPED OVERSEAS. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING. SO IF YOU BREAK DOWN THE JOBS REPORT, NUMBER ONE, THERE WAS 46,000 NEW PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS. IT WAS DRAGGED DOWN BY THE LOSS OF SOME GOVERNMENT JOBS, WHICH ALSO WAS A BIG PART OF THIS ADMINISTRATION, RIGHTSIZING THE GOVERNMENT AND MAKING SURE THAT THOSE JOBS ARE GOING TO HIGH PAID, HIGH SKILLED PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS. BUT LET'S LOOK AT MANUFACTURING TODAY IS ACTUALLY NATIONAL MANUFACTURING DAY. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THE MANUFACTURING NUMBERS. THIS IS A VERY BIG KEY FOR THIS ADMINISTRATION TO REINDUSTRIALIZE AMERICAN MANUFACTURING AND BRING THOSE JOBS HOME. AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE SEEING ACROSS THE BOARD AND IN THIS JOB REPORT. SO THIS MONTH, 9000 NEW MANUFACTURING JOBS, BRINGING IT TO 72,000 NEW MANUFACTURING JOBS FOR THE YEAR. THE MANUFACTURING INDEX HAS INCREASED EVERY MONTH FOR THE LAST NINE MONTHS, REVERSING YEARS OF DECLINE. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE LAST TWO MONTHS OF THE PRIOR ADMINISTRATION, THEY LOST THE LAST TWO YEARS OF THE PRIOR ADMINISTRATION, THEY LOST 200,000 MANUFACTURING JOBS. SO WE'RE STARTING TO SEE THESE INVESTMENTS PAYING OFF, AS YOU KNOW, AND YOU REPORT ON OFTEN THERE'S TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF INVESTMENTS COMING IN ALL ACROSS THE WORLD. YOU KNOW, JUST THIS WEEK TALKING ABOUT THE LNG LINE IN ALASKA THAT'S GOING TO BRING THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF JOBS TO. SO IN MANUFACTURING, IT'S AN INDUSTRY THAT CONTINUES TO RISE, AND WE SEE A GREAT JOB NUMBERS. AND THE SECOND PART OF THAT, TOO, IS ALSO ON THE CONSTRUCTION SIDE. SO YOU NEED TO BUILD THESE PLANTS. SO SO FAR IN THE PRESIDENT'S SECOND TERM, 112,000 CONSTRUCTION RELATED JOBS TO MANUFACTURING. AND A LOT OF THAT, TOO, IS BASED ON NOT ONLY ON THE PRESIDENT'S POLICIES GETTING THESE DEALS HERE, BUT THE WORKING FAMILY TAX CUTS GIVES A LOT OF INCENTIVE TO BRING BACK AMERICAN MANUFACTURING, BECAUSE EVERYBODY WANTS AMERICAN MANUFACTURING. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHERE THE LABOR DEPARTMENT COMES IN, MADE BY AMERICANS. >> YOU KNOW, THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF A BLUE COLLAR, WHITE COLLAR THING GOING ON WITH THE LABOR FORCE RIGHT NOW. AND WE'VE HEARD IT FROM SOME UNIONS WHO WERE PRO DATA CENTERS AND SAID IT WAS ONCE IN A GENERATIONAL, ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY TO GET INTO THE MIDDLE CLASS OR THE UPPER MIDDLE CLASS TO THEIR MEMBERS. SO YES, CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURING AND ALL THAT. ANOTHER KIND OF WEIRD WRINKLE. THERE'S SO MANY WEIRD WRINKLES TO THIS ECONOMY RIGHT NOW. ONE OF THEM IS THAT LOW MORTGAGE RATES ARE, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT LABOR MARKET MOBILITY, AND YOU CAN MOVE AROUND THE COUNTRY AND GET A JOB. AND I MEAN, AS YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU'RE ABOUT MY AGE. ALL OF MY EVERYBODY BOUGHT WHEN RATES WERE 3%. AND THE LINE IS I'M DYING IN THIS HOUSE. I'M NEVER MOVING. AND I'M CURIOUS WHAT IMPACT THAT'S GOING TO HAVE ON KIND OF KIND OF THE DYNAMISM OF THE LABOR MARKET, PEOPLE GETTING JOBS AND SO FORTH. >> WELL, THE PRESIDENT AND THIS ADMINISTRATION IS WORKING VERY HARD TO BRING DOWN THOSE INTEREST RATES FOR HOME MORTGAGES. BUT FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE AT THE LABOR DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, REALLY, AGAIN, SHIFTING TO THE JOB SIDE OF THIS AS WELL, WHERE WE'RE SEEING PEOPLE STAYING IN THEIR JOBS LONGER. NOW, NEW UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS FELL TO A ALMOST 66 YEAR LOW. SO LIKE HOUSING A LITTLE DIFFERENT IN EMPLOYMENT. WE'RE SEEING PEOPLE VERY HAPPY WHERE THEY ARE IN THEIR JOBS BECAUSE EMPLOYERS ARE DOING BETTER. THEY'RE DOING MORE PRODUCTIVE IN THE PRESIDENT'S SECOND TERM HERE BECAUSE OF A LOT OF THE POLICIES THAT WE'RE SEEING OF THEM BEING ABLE TO REINVEST IN THEIR BUSINESSES ACROSS THE BOARD, WHETHER IT'S TECHNOLOGY, WHETHER IT'S NEW MACHINING TO. SO FROM WHAT I KNOW IS THE LABOR MARKET, AND I SEE SOME PARALLELS IN THAT PEOPLE ARE STAYING IN THEIR JOB BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE ECONOMY IS ROCKING. >> YEAH, PERHAPS, PERHAPS LIKE WE SAID, IT'S KIND OF THIS NO HIGHER, NO FIRE KIND OF. DO YOU THINK THAT CATEGORIZATION IS RIGHT BY THAT CHARACTERIZATION, THIS THIS IDEA. IT'S LOW HIGHER LOW FIRE? NO. HIGHER. NO, BECAUSE I DO KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE IN BETWEEN THINGS AND REALLY STRUGGLING TO LAND THAT NEXT THING. BUT TO YOUR POINT, I'M NOT HEARING A LOT OF NEW LAYOFFS. LOW, HIGH OR LOW FIRE. NO, NO HIGHER, NO FIRE, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. >> SO WE'RE ACTUALLY SEEING SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN THIS MONTH'S JOBS REPORT, THE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE WENT UP. THAT'S ALMOST 480,000 PEOPLE COMING OFF THE SIDELINES COMING INTO THE LABOR MARKET, EITHER GETTING JOBS OR ENTERING THE JOBS. IT WAS ABOUT THE SAME LAST MONTH AS WELL. SO BETWEEN THE TWO MONTHS, IT'S A MILLION NEW PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T WORKING BEFORE THAT ARE TAKING THESE JOBS, AND THERE'S MORE JOBS AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW THAN THERE ARE PEOPLE LOOKING. SO THAT'S A REALLY GOOD THING. AND IT'S A TESTAMENT TO PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ECONOMY, TO THE EXACT TYPE OF PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS HE PROMISED TO BRING BACK THAT THAT WE'RE SEEING. WE'RE SEEING IT ACROSS DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES. WE TALKED ABOUT MANUFACTURING, WE TALKED ABOUT CONSTRUCTION. BUT AS WE SEE THIS REINVESTMENT IN THE UNITED STATES, WE'RE REALLY SEEING A DIVERSIFICATION OF JOBS IN INDUSTRIES. AND THAT'S REALLY THE LABOR DEPARTMENT COMES IN. AND THAT'S GOING TO BE ONE OF MY TOP PRIORITIES AS THE PRESIDENT'S LABOR SECRETARY, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT AMERICAN WORKERS HAVE THESE SKILLS, BECAUSE THE WORST THING WE CAN DO IS SEE ALL THESE FOREIGN COMPANIES, COUNTRIES, DOMESTIC MANUFACTURERS AND BUSINESSES MAKING THAT REINVESTMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. WE WANT THEM TO GO TO WORKERS WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND WE'RE WORKING REALLY HARD WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, WITH OUR STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE LINING UP THE SKILLS NEEDED FOR THESE NEW HIGH PAYING, HIGH PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS WITH THE WORKFORCE AND EDUCATION SYSTEM, SO PEOPLE CAN STAY IN THEIR COMMUNITIES AND TAKE THESE JOBS. AND I SEE THAT WHEN I TRAVEL THE COUNTRY, THE ABILITY OF LOCAL WORKERS NOT HAVING TO LEAVE HOME TO GET SOME OF THESE JOBS THAT DIDN'T EXIST IN THEIR COMMUNITIES BEFORE. AND THAT'S WHAT'S SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL ABOUT THIS ADMINISTRATION. >> YOUR PREDECESSOR LEFT AFTER SOME ACCUSATIONS WERE MADE BY BY VARIOUS PUBLICATIONS ABOUT HER BEHAVIOR ON THE JOB. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD SAY ABOUT THE CULTURE AT THE LABOR DEPARTMENT THAT YOU'RE LOOKING TO CHANGE OR IMPROVE UPON? >> WELL, YOU KNOW, THE LABOR DEPARTMENT HAS SOME OF THE BEST WORKERS IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT I'VE KNOWN FOR A VERY LONG TIME, AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT EVERYONE IS EXCITED TO MAKE SURE THAT NOT ONLY THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF WORKERS IN PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ECONOMY, WHERE WE'RE HAVING SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE WORKFORCE, AS THE PRESIDENT SAYS ALL THE TIME, MORE PEOPLE ARE WORKING TODAY THAN ANY TIME IN OUR NATION'S HISTORY. SO THE LABOR DEPARTMENT'S MISSION IS EVEN STRONGER THAN EVER. NOW, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WORKERS ARE SAFE AND RETURN HOME SAFELY EVERY NIGHT THROUGH OSHA. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THEIR HEALTH AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS ARE PROTECTED AS WELL, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE GETTING THEIR PAYCHECKS PROPERLY. SO I LOVE THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. IT'S THE HONOR OF MY LIFE TO BE A LABOR SECRETARY. THIS IS WHAT I'VE DONE, AS YOU SAID, MY WHOLE CAREER, AND WE HAVE A GREAT TEAM, AND WE'RE REALLY GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT IN PRESIDENT