The final jobs report on President Joe Biden’s term couldn’t have been much better: According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added 256,000 jobs in December, far exceeding expectations. What’s more, the nation’s unemployment rate inched lower to 4.1%, and wages continued to outpace inflation.
Two days later, Vice President-elect JD Vance appeared on “Fox News Sunday,” and host Shannon Bream reminded the Ohio Republican about the good news. Asked whether he’s prepared to give the incumbent Democratic president credit for the latest round of good news, Vance pretended the good news didn’t exist: Biden, he said, has left the incoming Trump administration with “a dumpster fire … with the economy.”
The evidence pointing in the opposite direction is overwhelming. Indeed, it’s worth putting the latest job numbers in context to help drive the point home.
As we discussed late last week, over the course of the first three years of Donald Trump’s presidency — when the Republican said the U.S. economy was the greatest in the history of the planet — the economy created roughly 6.38 million jobs, spanning all of 2017, 2018 and 2019.
According to the latest tally, the U.S. economy has created over 17 million jobs since January 2021 — nearly triple the combined total of Trump’s first three years. (If we include the fourth year of the Republican’s term, the data looks even worse for him.)
Looking at the bigger picture on a year-by-year basis, the worst year for job creation under Biden (2.23 million jobs in 2024) was comparable to the best year for job creation under Trump (2.28 million jobs in 2018). Here’s a chart I put together, using data by way of the Labor Department’s BLS.
What’s more, Biden is leaving the White House with a 4.1% unemployment rate — it was 6.4% the month he took office — and the latest rate is the lowest for an outgoing president since Bill Clinton, and the second-lowest since Lyndon Johnson. (The jobless rate was 3.9% in December 1999; it was 3.4% when LBJ left office.)
In fact, for all the polls suggesting Republicans have an advantage on the economy, here’s a pattern that often goes overlooked: Since Watergate, there have been 10 American presidents, four Democrats and six Republicans. Under every Democratic administration, the nation’s unemployment rate improved, and under five of the six Republican administrations, the nation’s unemployment rate worsened. Here’s another chart I put together, also using data by way of the Labor Department’s BLS.
Richard Nixon started with a 3.4% unemployment rate, and in the final month of his presidency, it was up to 5.5%.
Gerald Ford started with a 5.5% unemployment rate, and in the final month of his presidency, it was up to 7.8%.
Jimmy Carter started with a 7.5% unemployment rate, and in the final month of his presidency, it was down to 7.2%.
Ronald Reagan started with a 7.5% unemployment rate, and in the final month of his presidency, it was down to 5.3%. (He’s the only modern Republican to leave office with the jobless rate better than when he started.)
George H.W. Bush started with a 5.4% unemployment rate, and in the final month of his presidency, it was up to 7.4%. Bill Clinton started with a 7.3% unemployment rate, and in the final month of his presidency, it was down to 3.9%. George W. Bush started with a 4.2% unemployment rate, and in the final month of his presidency, it was up to 7.3%. Barack Obama started with a 7.8% unemployment rate, and in the final month of his presidency, it was down to 4.7%. Donald Trump started with a 4.7% unemployment rate, and in the final month of his presidency, it was up to 6.7%. Biden started with a 6.4% unemployment rate, and in the final month of his presidency, it was down to 4.1%. Keep this in mind the next time a GOP official suggests the party has more credibility on matters related to the economy. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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