US economy has added 13 million jobs during President Joe Biden's first term

The U.S. economy has added more jobs during President Joe Biden’s term in office than it has in a single term under any of his predecessors, according to data released on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Today is a good day for the American economy and American workers. We learned this morning that the economy created 339,000 jobs last month,” Biden said in a statement. “We have now created over 13 million jobs since I took office. That is more jobs in 28 months than any President has created in an entire 4-year term.”

In May 2023, the unemployment rate increased 0.3 percentage points to 3.7%. The unemployment rate has been under 4.0% since February 2022. Data for previous months showed additional positive job news, with a total of 217,000 jobs added in March (52,000 more than first reported) and 294,000 jobs in April (up 93,000).

The Department of Labor previously reported that 12.7 million jobs had been added since Biden took office in January 2021, so with May’s report and the revisions to the data from March and April, the total is now over 13.1 million jobs.

Only Bill Clinton saw more jobs created when he was president, but it took place over his two terms in office, from 1993 to 2001. Some 12.2 million jobs were added during Clinton’s first term and 11.3 million during his second. The next-highest number of jobs was the 10.7 million created during former President Ronald Reagan’s second term, from 1985 to1989.

Biden’s immediate predecessor, former President Donald Trump, is the only modern president to leave office with a record of job losses; he holds the worst jobs record in U.S. history. During his one term, which included the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 3 million jobs were lost. When Trump left office in January 2021, the unemployment rate was 6.3%.

The unemployment report follows the successful passage in the Senate on June 1 of legislation to suspend the federal debt ceiling, allowing the U.S. government to borrow to meet its existing debts and avoid triggering a default that experts said could cause devastating effects to the U.S. and global economies. Biden said he would sign the legislation as soon as possible.

The bill to suspend the debt ceiling, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, contains concessions to Republican lawmakers that include the addition of work requirements for people receiving assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but does not cut funding for key legislation passed under Biden.

Protecting and creating jobs has been a significant component of the bills Biden has signed as president: The American Rescue Plan was designed to protect and stimulate the economy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is being used to fund construction projects along with federal guidelines that prioritize labor agreements preferred by unions; the CHIPS and Science Act gives companies tax incentives for U.S.-based production and manufacturing; and the Inflation Reduction Act provides funding for jobs involved in clean energy projects within the United States.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.