Biden takes credit for job recovery, compares it to Trump era.
President Biden Touts Economic Performance Following August Jobs Report
WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden delivered a speech at the White House on Friday, highlighting his economic performance in response to his predecessor’s claims about greater employment gains. The speech came after the release of the August jobs report, which exceeded consensus estimates by adding 187,000 jobs to the U.S. economy.
Although this was the third-weakest jobs report under President Biden, it was still seen as a positive sign for the labor market’s resilience. The overall number of jobs has increased above pre-pandemic levels, with a difference of approximately 4 million more jobs in August 2023 compared to February 2020.
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In his speech at the Rose Garden, President Biden declared that America is currently experiencing its strongest period of job creation ever. He emphasized the contrast between the current situation and the job losses that occurred not long ago, stating, “It wasn’t that long ago that America was losing jobs. In fact, my predecessor was one of only two presidents in history who entered his presidency and left with fewer jobs than when he entered.”
President Biden also highlighted the 13.5 million new jobs created by employers since he took office in January 2021.
However, some critics argue that President Biden is wrongly attributing all the credit to his policies without considering the return to work resulting from the reopening of businesses, the government, and schools after the pandemic-related shutdowns in 2020. It is true that the economy was already improving and job creation had begun before President Biden’s term.
Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2024, recently claimed that President Biden’s record of job creation pales in comparison to his own. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added approximately 5.4 million jobs in the first 30 months of President Trump’s term, which predates the pandemic. In contrast, President Trump claims that only 2.1 million new jobs were created during President Biden’s first 30 months in office.
The Trump campaign later clarified to PolitiFact that their figure did not include workers returning from pandemic layoffs.
President Biden, however, disagrees and believes he deserves all the credit for the job recovery due to his policies. During his Rose Garden speech, he stated, “We created more jobs in two years than a president ever created in a single four-year term. We did it in two years. We recovered all the jobs lost during the pandemic.” President Biden also expressed confidence that the Inflation Reduction Act, one of his key legislative wins, will create over 1.5 million jobs in the next decade by investing in clean energy and addressing climate change.
Labor Force Participation
The August jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also revealed an increase in labor force participation, indicating that more people are returning to the workforce. The labor force participation rate, which measures the proportion of Americans who work or are actively seeking employment, rose to 62.8 percent. However, this rate remains below the pre-pandemic level of 63.3 percent in February 2020.
According to the report, the unemployment rate in August rose to 3.8 percent from 3.5 percent in July. While this is the highest level since February last year, it is still relatively low compared to previous years. Stoyan Panayotov, founder and CEO of Babylon Wealth Management in California, sees the rise in the unemployment rate as a positive sign, stating, “Unemployment is rising because more Americans are returning to work,” in a note to clients.
Deutsche Bank economists believe that the latest jobs report indicates progress towards a better balance between labor market supply and demand. However, their recent report estimates that 100 million people are currently not in the labor force, which is 5 million more than the pre-COVID level. The report also highlights that job creation growth has been highest in industries that were hit hardest by the pandemic.
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