President Joe Biden called the December jobs report, which showed unemployment dropping to 3.9%, a “historic” milestone in his presidency despite job growth once again falling well short of economists’ expectations.
Biden delivered remarks on the report Friday before departing the White House to survey fire damage in Colorado, claiming the figures showed “the sharpest one-year drop in unemployment in United States history and the first time the unemployment rate has been below 4% in the first year of a presidential term in 50 years.”
“Record job creation, record unemployment declines, record increases in the people in the labor force,” the president added. “I would argue the Biden economic plan is working and is getting America back to work back on its feet.”
The president credited the unemployment decline with the American Rescue Plan and vaccine advancements in 2021. Still, he urged Congress to pass his Build Back Better spending legislation to continue growing the economy.
U.S. ADDED 199,000 NEW JOBS IN DECEMBER, WITH PROJECTIONS FALLING SHORT FOR SECOND STRAIGHT MONTH
“Some of them have components that are immediate, like unsticking the supply chain. Some will show their benefits over time, like investments in infrastructure, But all will help America’s families,” he said. “It’s urgent we get moving on all of it without delay because at this moment as a country, we face an important choice: Do we take the steps to create an economy with strong, sustainable growth, higher wages, and more opportunity for all Americans? Or do we settle for an economy that wasn’t working for a middle class even before the pandemic began?”
“From Day One, my economic agenda has been different. I spent about taking a fundamentally new approach to our economy. One that sees the prosperity of working families as the solution, not the problem. There’s never been a time I can think of when the middle class [or] work class have done well where the wealthy haven’t done very well,” Biden closed. “I’m determined to grow the economy from the bottom up [and] the middle out because when we do, we get more growth, higher wages, more jobs, and, over time, lower prices.”
However, the December report added more than 300,000 fewer jobs than the anticipated 500,000. This marks the second consecutive jobs report that fell short of administration economists’ projections.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is reportedly preparing to hike interest rates, which have remained near zero throughout the pandemic, to deal with historic inflation and rising prices during Biden’s first year in office. Year-over-year inflation remains over 5%, and the consumer price index for November reached its highest point since the Carter administration.
As Biden spoke, the Republican National Committee blasted the latest numbers as the “worst jobs report” of his presidency, citing the low number of jobs created last month compared to economists’ expectations.
“It’s clear: His ‘plan’ is not working!” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel added on Twitter.
This is the worst jobs report of Biden’s presidency so far.
Less than HALF the jobs expected were created.
It’s clear: His “plan” is not working!
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) January 7, 2022
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You can watch Biden’s remarks in full below.
