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By Louis Jacobson - Politifact
When the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the United States had gained 850,000 jobs in June, President Joe Biden took a podium at the White House to show off that achievement.
"Good morning everyone ... it's a good day!" Biden said on July 2.
"As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day, today's employment news brings us something else to celebrate - this morning we learned that our economy created 850,000 jobs in June."
[Although wages increased in June, the unemployment rate also increased]
"We have created more than 3 million jobs since I took office, more jobs than have been created in the first five months of any presidency in modern history, thanks to the incredible work of the entire team," added the President.
Presidents' claims about job creation during their tenures can be problematic and exaggerated.
Let's see how Biden fares on this case.
What the numbers show
Biden is right about the numbers.
But it
leaves out important context information
.
This is how the labor market changed in the United States after the pandemic
June 28, 202 101: 38
Official government data shows that between January 2021, when Biden took office, and June, the number of employed Americans rose from 142.7 million to 145.8 million, a gain of just over 3 million. jobs.
In numerical terms, that's the largest job gain in similar periods of all post-WWII US presidents-elect.
(This comparison leaves out Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, and Gerald Ford, who took office without being elected.)
Biden's closest competitor was Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), who achieved an increase of 1.8 million jobs within months of his inauguration.
Telemundo News
Various caveats
Biden's claim omits at least four important aspects of the historical context.
First, use raw numbers versus percentages
.
By choosing to highlight the actual number of jobs he won, Biden has an advantage over previous presidents.
The population of the United States has grown, and therefore the workforce has increased.
A fairer metric of comparison is the number of jobs gained divided by the starting level of jobs when the president took office.
By this metric, Biden scores well, but he's not number one
.
That distinction goes to Carter, whose management saw job gains of 2.2%, compared to 2.1% for Biden.
Telemundo News
Comparison with the pre-pandemic level
.
The United States economy still has nearly 6.8 million fewer jobs than at the peak before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In June 2021, it registered 145.8 million jobs, compared to the 152.5 million it had in February 2020.
[The stock market collapses before the rebound of COVID-19]
In other words, if June's gains could be replicated each month, it would take until February 2022 to regain all pre-pandemic jobs (population increases aside).
Given the severity of the recession from the coronavirus pandemic, that would be a significant rebound, but it is something that has not happened yet.
Telemundo News
Question of the moment
.
Although Bien took office during a recession and a global pandemic, he did so when the economy was already booming.
Most presidents, other than Barack Obama, who took office during a recession that went from bad to worse, entered the White House with a growing economy.
But, the exact timing of his inauguration can play a big role in how a president's first few months go by, so
Biden's comparison to his predecessors isn't really an apples-to-apples comparison
.
[Prices suffer their biggest rise since 2008 with consumer demand firing inflation]
Who receives the credit?
Experts always warn that
a president is not all-powerful in economic matters
, as there are many factors beyond his control - from the international supply of oil to changes in technology and demographics - that can shape the health of the American economy. .
That said,
experts do believe that Biden deserves some credit for job earnings during his tenure
, given the surge in coronavirus vaccines and the passage of his $ 1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which provided help and relief. economic for coronavirus.
For this article, the White House did not respond to our inquiries.
Our verdict
Biden said: "We have created more than 3 million jobs since I took office, more jobs than have been created in the first five months of any presidency in modern history."
A Nordstrom store in Coral Gables, Florida, was looking for employees on May 21, 2021. Employment numbers in the US have improved, but are still below the levels recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marta Lavandier / AP
Biden is correct in the numbers and how they stack up against his recent predecessors in the Oval Office.
However, his claim overlooks the fact that the US economy is nearly 6.8 million jobs below its peak before the pandemic.
Also, comparing presidents like Biden did is very sensitive to economic conditions at the time of his inauguration.
Although Biden took office during a deep recession, he did so in the rising phase of the economy, a situation from which not all presidents have benefited.
Therefore, we
qualify your claim as misleading
.
