Los Angeles port sees a sharp drop in job opportunities due to Washington’s elevated tariffs: media report

Trucks and containers are pictured at the Port of Los Angeles, California, the United States, on April 29, 2025. (Photo/Xinhua)

The Port of Los Angeles, the largest and busiest container port in the US, has seen job opportunities drop sharply due to the US government's hefty tariffs imposed on the world, according to a report from chinanews.com on Sunday.

The report quoted Gene Seroka, executive director of the LA port, who said during a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times that nearly half of the longshoremen who support operations at the port went without work from the end of May to early June.

According to the Los Angeles Times report, Seroka said that the LA port processed 25 percent less cargo than forecast for the month of May.

"They haven't been laid off, but they're not working nearly as much as they did previously," Seroka told the newspaper. "Since the tariffs went into place and in May specifically, we've really seen the work go off on the downside."

US government's imposing steep tariffs on imports have drastically stemmed the flow of goods into the US, driving down activity at the ports of LA and Long Beach, which collectively processed more than 20 million 20-foot-long cargo containers last year. The two ports are the largest in the US and provide jobs for thousands of dockworkers, heavy equipment operators and truck drivers, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Seroka attributed the drop in jobs to significantly reduced cargo volumes processed at the LA port.

Seroka noted that an average of 733 job orders was posted per shift over the past 25 shifts (about two weeks). Ordinarily, between 1,700 and 2,000 job orders are posted during a typical day shift, and between 1,100 and 1,400 are posted during a standard night shift, according to Seroka.

"The June numbers that we're projecting right now are nowhere near where they traditionally should be," Seroka said, adding that conditions are not expected to significantly improve anytime soon.

In early May, the inbound cargo volume at the LA Port fell by 30 percent. The port serves as a major entry point for Asian exports to the US mainland, with around 45 percent originating from China.

The shipping slowdown has triggered broad ripple effects. The slowdown in activity at the two ports of LA and Long Beach has spread into surrounding communities. "We're starting to hear from small businesses and restaurants in the harbor area that their customer patronage is trending downward," Seroka said.

In response to a media question about attitude toward the reduction in bilateral tariffs between China and the US in May, Los Angeles Port executive director Gene Serokasaid in a statement sent to the Global Times that "the 90-day pause and reduction of tariffs between the US and China is welcome news for consumers, American businesses, workers and the supply chain. Even with this announcement, tariffs remain elevated compared to April 1," Gene Seroka said then.

"To avoid further uncertainty and disruption of trade, both sides should work together swiftly toward a long-term agreement. Additionally, it's important for the US to work with other nations to reduce existing tariffs," according to the port's statement.

Port cargo throughput is a major indicator of economic health. The US tariffs will only serve to disrupt the logistics of the US, hurt port operations, and hurt the interests of American people, a Chinese expert noted, adding that this will exacerbate US economic woes while inhibiting the world economy.

The LA port is just one of many major US ports affected by the US-initiated tariffs war. Data from the Northwest Seaport Alliance showed that in the first week of May, the inbound cargo volume at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma fell by 23 percent compared to the average weekly level this year, according to CMG reports.

At the Port of Seattle, decline in work opportunities has also made workers increasingly worried about their livelihood.

Kesa Stein's family has been working at the Seattle port for decades. At 39 years old, Stein, a third-generation dockworker at the port said that the current situation has impacted the livelihood of the workers and left them feeling uncertain about the future

If the situation does not improve, Stein stated, port workers including dockworkers, truck drivers and logistics personnel could face increasingly tough challenges, including the risk of unemployment, per the CMG.

Since implementing its unilateral tariffs, the US has not resolved any of its own problems. "Instead, the levies have seriously disrupted the order of the international economy and trade, and severely interfered with business operations and people's consumption," a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said on May 29.

The spokesperson emphasized that the US' elevated tariffs have harmed others without benefiting the US itself, and that they have triggered significant domestic opposition within the US too.