By Jack Elbaum, Contributor. Media: Washington Examiner.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden tweeted out a graph depicting the average number of jobs created per month during the terms of each of the past seven presidents. It was posted with a caption reading, “My Administration has created more jobs in two years than any previous administration has created in the first four years. It’s no accident. It means our economic plan is working and this is only the beginning.”
But this is nonsense.
My Administration has created more jobs in two years than any previous administration has created in the first four years.
It’s no accident. It means our economic plan is working and this is only the beginning. pic.twitter.com/vUYIK6RlLY
— President Biden Archived (@POTUS46Archive) June 27, 2023
The numbers themselves are accurate. But significant context is needed to understand them properly. After all, the implication of Biden’s tweet is that he is some sort of job-creating wizard. But the evidence just isn’t there.
President Joe Biden took office right at the start of an economic recovery after the worst of the pandemic’s effects on the economy were behind. However, 60% of the 22 million jobs lost during the draconian lockdowns imposed by state and local governments had not yet been restored.
Naturally, when businesses began opening up again, travel was becoming more common, and life was really starting to get back to normal, of course there would be a spike in job creation. Yet that has nothing to do with the supposedly unique abilities of Biden. It is common sense: When the government stops coercing businesses into shutting down, they will open back up and hire workers again. Crazy how that works.
According to the House Budget Committee, 72% “of all job gains since 2021 were simply jobs that were being recovered from the pandemic, not new job creation. In fact, when looking at today’s economy compared to pre-pandemic levels, employment is up only by 3.7 million.”
When comparing that to previous administrations, Biden’s accomplishments no longer seem nearly as impressive. This is particularly true when one takes into account that inflation has now outpaced wage growth for 26 months in a row — and even according to leading liberal economists, the inflation, unlike the job growth, was indeed caused by Biden’s big-spending policies.
This is not the first time Biden has misled on economic issues. It is a common occurrence, particularly on inflation and the deficit. In both cases, he has been soundly debunked.
The public certainly isn’t buying Biden’s claims, as polls consistently give Biden an abysmal rating on his performance vis-a-vis the economy. Politicians are often able to confuse voters with misleading statistics. It is a good thing that, in this case, the public is able to see right through it.
Jack Elbaum is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.
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