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Jobs created during U.S. presidential terms

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Job growth by U.S. president, measured as cumulative percentage change from month after inauguration to end of term

Politicians and pundits frequently refer to the ability of the president of the United States to "create jobs" in the U.S. during his term in office.[1] The numbers are most often seen during the election season or in regard to a president's economic legacy. The numbers typically used and most frequently cited by economists are total nonfarm payroll employment numbers as collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on a monthly and annual basis. The BLS also provides numbers for private-sector non-farm employment and other subsets of the aggregate.

Among the presidents from Jimmy Carter to Donald Trump, Bill Clinton created the most jobs at 18.6 million, while Ronald Reagan had the largest cumulative percentage increase in jobs at 15.6%. This computation treats the base month as the December before the month of inauguration and last month as December of the final full year in office.[2] Using the month after inauguration as the base month as shown in the accompanying diagram, the top four presidents in terms of cumulative job creation percentage are Clinton (D), Reagan (R), Carter (D), and Obama (D).[3]

Methodology

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The jobs numbers are reported as part of the "Monthly Employment Situation Report" from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The widely publicized "job creation" number is a net figure, computed as jobs created less jobs lost during the survey month. Estimates are generated via the "Establishment Survey", also known as the payroll survey or Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The Establishment Survey as of May 2020 included "approximately 145,000 businesses and government agencies representing approximately 697,000 worksites." The Establishment Survey publishes jobs, hours, and earnings estimates at varying levels of detail (nation, state, metro area) and for different industries.[4]

The sample establishments are drawn from private non-farm businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as federal, state, and local government entities. Employees on non-farm payrolls are those who received pay for any part of the reference pay period (which includes the 12th of the month), including persons on paid leave. Further, BLS explains that: "The CES employment series are estimates of nonfarm wage and salary jobs, not an estimate of employed persons; an individual with two jobs is counted twice by the payroll survey. The CES employment series excludes employees in agriculture, private households, and the self-employed." These monthly job counts are revised (sometimes by 20% or more) within 90 days to reflect additional data, seasonal adjustment models, and annual adjustments resulting from unemployment insurance filings. Figures are seasonally adjusted, which removes from the series the effects of normal variation from recurring events within a year, such as holidays and weather changes, and helps reveal underlying economic trends.[4]

Journalist Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post explained in 2020 that economists debate which month to use as the base for counting job creation, between either January of the first term (the month of inauguration) or February. Survey data is typically from around the twelfth of the month, so January numbers are counted before the new president takes office. For that reason, The Washington Post uses the February jobs level as the starting point. For example, for President Obama, the computation takes the 145.815 million jobs of February 2017 and subtracts the 133.312 million jobs of February 2009 to arrive at the 12.503 million figure. Four of the top five presidents in terms of total jobs added were Democrats. For these 13 presidents beginning with Truman, total job creation was 2.4 times faster under Democrats, 70.5 million for the seven Democratic presidents and 29.1 million for the six Republican presidents. The Democratic presidents were in office for a total of 429 months, with 164,000 jobs per month added on average, while the Republicans were in office for 475 months, with a 61,000 jobs added per month average. The table below summarizes the results for the past seven presidents, with data through January 2021 for President Trump:[5]

Job creation by president Carter Reagan G.H.W. Bush Clinton G.W. Bush Obama Trump
Total jobs added (millions)[5] 10.117 16.322 2.617 22.745 0.523 11.570 -2.670
Months in office 48 96 48 96 96 96 48
Jobs added per month (avg. in thousands) 211 170 55 237 5 121 -56

Controversy

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U.S. changes in employment for selected time periods

The exact usefulness of these numbers is debated. On the one hand, they include only nonfarm payroll employment, which excludes certain types of jobs, notably the self-employed. However, as a semi-balancing factor, they count one person with two jobs as two employed persons.

Additionally, for at least the first eight months of a president's term, he inherits a budget proposed and implemented by his predecessor (as well as an overall economy which may be in decline or recovery). The data in columns shown for September (in italic) correlate better with the federal fiscal year starting each October, showing the impact of a given president and resulting federal budget on the job count.

Moreover, according to the United States Constitution, the United States Congress is responsible for government spending and thus, regardless of presidential advocacy, bears constitutional responsibility for such things as spending and tax policy that have enormous effects upon the economy. Furthermore, it is debatable how much effect any president realistically could have on a system as large, diverse, and complex as the U.S. economy. Nevertheless, the nonfarm payrolls number is the one most frequently used in the media and by economists, largely because the alternative (household survey numbers) is thought to drastically overestimate employment.

Another factor to consider is population growth, which provides opportunities for the creation of jobs, rendering these figures less impressive, or in the case of the already subpar, clearly insufficient.

The Heritage Foundation has pointed to Alan Greenspan's general economic optimism in 2004 as support for household survey numbers over payroll numbers. However, the subsequent downturn, and Greenspan's admission of having been wrong, may have discredited that view.

According to a Harris Poll, despite persistent reports that inflation is falling and the unemployment rate is nearing a 50-year low, two-thirds of Americans (68%) are unhappy with the economy.[6]

Job creation lists

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By four-year presidential term

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Numbers listed from 1941 and onward are BLS data[7] of nonfarm jobs (in thousands), and are shown from the year beginning and ending each presidential term. The monthly statistics are quoted from January, as U.S. presidents take office at the end of that month.

U.S. president Party Term years Start jobs End jobs Created % change Avg. annual increase
Harding/Coolidge R 1921–1925 25,000 ** 29,500 ** + 4,500 ** +18.00% ** +4.23% **
Calvin Coolidge R 1925–1929 29,500 ** 32,100 ** + 2,600 ** +8.81% ** +2.13% **
Herbert Hoover R 1929–1933 32,100 ** 25,700 ** -6,400 ** -19.94% ** -5.41% **
Franklin Roosevelt D 1933–1937 25,700 ** 31,200 ** + 5,500 ** +21.40% ** +4.97% **
Franklin Roosevelt D 1937–1941 31,200 ** 34,481 + 3,280 ** +10.52% ** +2.53% **
Franklin Roosevelt D 1941–1945 34,481 41,895 + 7,414 +21.50% +5.00%
Roosevelt/Truman D 1945–1949 41,895 44,668 + 2,773 +6.62% +1.61%
Harry Truman D 1949–1953 44,668 50,144 + 5,476 +12.26% +2.93%
Dwight Eisenhower R 1953–1957 50,144 52,887 + 2,743 +5.47% +1.34%
Dwight Eisenhower R 1957–1961 52,887 53,683 + 796 +1.51% +0.87%
Kennedy/Johnson D 1961–1965 53,683 59,582 + 5,899 +10.99% +2.64%
Lyndon Johnson D 1965–1969 59,582 69,439 + 9,857 +16.54% +3.90%
Richard Nixon R 1969–1973 69,439 75,617 + 6,178 +8.90% +2.15%
Nixon/Ford R 1973–1977 75,617 80,690 + 5,073 +6.71% +1.66%
Jimmy Carter D 1977–1981 80,690 91,033 +10,343 +12.82% +3.06%
Ronald Reagan R 1981–1985 91,033 96,372 + 5,339 +5.86% +1.44%
Ronald Reagan R 1985–1989 96,372 107,161 +10,789 +11.20% +2.69%
George H. W. Bush R 1989–1993 107,161 109,795 + 2,634 +2.46% +0.61%
Bill Clinton D 1993–1997 109,795 121,368 +11,573 +10.54% +2.54%
Bill Clinton D 1997–2001 121,368 132,699 +11,331 +9.34% +2.26%
George W. Bush R 2001–2005 132,699 132,779 + 80 +0.06% +0.02%
George W. Bush R 2005–2009 132,779 134,066 + 1,287 +0.97% +0.24%
Barack Obama D 2009–2013 134,066 135,263 + 1,197 +0.90% +0.22%
Barack Obama D 2013–2017 135,263 145,636 + 10,373 +7.67% +1.86%[8]
Donald Trump R 2017–2021 145,636 142,916 - 2,720 -1.87% -0.47%[8]
Joe Biden D 2021–present 142,916 Pending Pending Pending Pending

**In thousands. Approximate

By presidency

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Change in nonfarm employment for all U.S. presidents since 1939 (data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics)[9][10]
President Political party Length of presidency Nonfarm employment at the start of presidency (in thousands) Nonfarm employment at the end of presidency (in thousands) Annual percentage change in nonfarm employment
Franklin D. Roosevelt (data available for 1939–1945 only) Democratic 1933–1945 29,923 (for January 1939) 41,446 5.35% (annual average from January 1939 to April 1945)
Harry S. Truman Democratic 1945–1953 41,446 50,144 2.49%
Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican 1953–1961 50,144 53,683 0.86%
John F. Kennedy Democratic 1961–1963 53,683 57,255 2.30%
Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic 1963–1969 57,255 69,439 3.80%
Richard M. Nixon Republican 1969–1974 69,439 78,619 2.25%
Gerald R. Ford Republican 1974–1977 78,619 80,690 1.08%
Jimmy Carter Democratic 1977–1981 80,690 91,033 3.06%
Ronald W. Reagan Republican 1981–1989 91,033 107,161 2.06%
George H. W. Bush Republican 1989–1993 107,161 109,794 0.61%
Bill Clinton Democratic 1993–2001 109,794 132,698 2.40%
George W. Bush Republican 2001–2009 132,698 134,055 0.13%
Barack H. Obama Democratic 2009–2017 134,055 145,612 1.04%
Donald J. Trump Republican 2017–2021 145,612 142,669 -0.51%
Joe Biden Democratic 2021–present 142,669 158,723 (for July 2024) 11.25% (annual average from January 2021 to July 2024)

For information on the United States public debt divided by gross domestic product by presidential term, see National debt by U.S. presidential terms

Graphs and data

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The Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database contains the total nonfarm employment level. A graph with a simple download of data on jobs by month since the late 1930s is available here:

.[11]

See also

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  1. ^ "NYT-Laura D'Andrea Tyson-Jobs Deficit, Investment Deficit, Fiscal Deficit-July 2011".
  2. ^ "Which President Created the Most Jobs?". The Balance.
  3. ^ "All Employees, Total Nonfarm". FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. January 1, 1939.
  4. ^ a b Monthly Employment Situation Report: Quick Guide to Methods and Measurement Issues-Retrieved May 31, 2020
  5. ^ a b "Biden's claim that Trump will be the first president with a negative jobs record". October 2, 2020 – via washingtonpost.com.
  6. ^ "US economy going strong under Biden – Americans don't believe it". The Guardian. 15 Sep 2023.
  7. ^ Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Databases & Tools, Top Picks", Total Nonfarm Employment - Seasonally Adjusted
  8. ^ a b "All Employees, Total Nonfarm". January 1939.
  9. ^ "Top Picks (Most Requested Statistics) : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics".
  10. ^ "Notice: Data not available: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics".
  11. ^ Risk, Calculated. "Public and Private Sector Payroll Jobs: Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama".

Jobs Created During Each Presidency Term