The Labor Department reported the economy added 311,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate came in at 3.6%. It was the 25th straight month of positive job growth under the Biden administration and another punch to the gut of the negative voices of the GOP and their enablers who have projected doom and gloom for the economy since early 2022. The economy has created over 800,000 jobs in the first two months of 2023.
The unemployment rate was up from last month's 3.4% as the Department noted that more people entered the work force looking for employment. But the number is still at historically lows. Wages were up 4.6% year to year, well above the pre-pandemic trend and down from the 5.9% increase in 2022. The negative voices were predicting job creation in the 200,000 range and that unemployment claims would begin to explode but they are wrong once again.
The economy on Biden's first full 25 months has created over 11.3 million jobs, an average of 454,000 jobs per month. Trump in his first 36 months in office (before anyone knew the word COVID) created 6.6 million jobs, an average of 183,000 per month. But the economy ended up losing 2.7 million jobs on Trump's watch by the time he left office. In President Obama's last 36 months in office 8.1 million jobs were created, an average of 225,000 jobs per month.
Among the negative voices of the doom and gloom GOP and their enablers, the steady sane voice of the President and his party continue to move the country and its people forward despite the negative attacks. When you have no accomplishments to talk about, the only thing left are lies, misinformation and personal attacks.
The President should keep his focus on those issues that really matter and make a difference for the country and its people. So far, he has done a good job at doing so.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
