() Signs that the economy may be starting to turn in a more positive direction are beginning to emerge after a better-than-expected jobs report for April and an upward trend in the stock market.

The S&P 500 has been up nine days in a row after Friday, which signals a reversal from the losses that were experienced after President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs announcement in the White House Rose Garden. The April jobs report showed 177,000 new jobs, which is another sign that the economy may be rebounding, Richard Stern, the director of economic policy and the federal budget with the conservative Heritage Foundation, said.

“Things are still a little shaky – tariffs put a little bit of a pause on the economy,” Stern told . “But truth be told, the fundamentals are looking very good from my chair.”

The increase in jobs came despite more federal jobs being slashed due to the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency, Stern said. The more cutting that gets done, the more things improve for the American consumer, he added.

“You have to remember that every single dollar the government spends is a dollar stolen from the American public,” Stern said. “Regardless of if the government raises money by taxes, or it comes right out of your paycheck, or through deficits, then you’ll just feel it with high interest rates (and) high inflation rates.”

He added: “So the more we cut spending, the more we reduce those burdens, and you keep the money you earn.”