Recent data shows Biden’s administration has created over 17 million jobs since 2021, surpassing Trump’s record
Washington: The latest jobs report for President Biden is impressive. In December, the U.S. economy added 256,000 jobs, which is way more than expected. Plus, the unemployment rate dropped to 4.1%, and wages are keeping up with inflation.
Just two days later, Vice President-elect JD Vance was on “Fox News Sunday.” When asked about the good news, he acted like it didn’t exist. He claimed Biden left the incoming Trump administration with “a dumpster fire” regarding the economy.
But the facts tell a different story. If we look at the job numbers, they really put things into perspective. During Trump’s first three years, about 6.38 million jobs were created. In contrast, since January 2021, Biden’s administration has created over 17 million jobs. That’s nearly three times what Trump did in his first three years.
When we break it down year by year, Biden’s worst year for job creation (2.23 million jobs in 2024) is still comparable to Trump’s best year (2.28 million jobs in 2018). And Biden is leaving office with a 4.1% unemployment rate, down from 6.4% when he took over. That’s the lowest for an outgoing president since Bill Clinton.
Interestingly, despite polls showing Republicans have an edge on the economy, history shows a pattern. Since Watergate, every Democratic president has improved the unemployment rate, while five out of six Republican presidents have seen it worsen.
For example, Nixon started with a 3.4% unemployment rate and ended with 5.5%. Ford went from 5.5% to 7.8%. Even Reagan, who left with a better rate, was the only modern Republican to do so. Biden, starting at 6.4%, is leaving with 4.1%.
So, the next time a GOP official claims they’re better with the economy, remember these numbers.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com.
