President Obama has complained frequently about the mess that was dumped into his lap. He’s frequently whined about the “failed policies of the last 8 years.” It’s time to take the gloves off for this fight. The statistics from the last 15 jobs reports don’t paint a pretty picture:
2012:
May: 69,000
Apr.: 115,000
Mar.: 121,000
Feb.: 227,000
Jan.: 243,000
Subtotal: 775,000
June Revision: -49,000
2012 Total: 726,0002011:
Dec.: 200,000
Nov.: 120,000
Oct.: 80,000
Sept.: 103,000
July: 117,000
June: 18,000
May: 54,000
Apr.: 244,000
Mar.: 216,000
2011 Subtotal: 1,152,000
Grand Total 3/2011-5/2012: 1,878,000
That’s an average of 125,200 jobs created per month, less than what’s needed to keep up with population growth. What’s more, if you eliminate the isolated months where the economy created 200,000+ jobs, that per month average changes dramatically.
Only 748,000 jobs were created in the other 10 months. That’s a pathetic average of less than 75,000 jobs created per month.
Is that the type of anemic job growth we expect during a recovery? Of course it isn’t. Americans expect better than that.
When President Reagan argued that we stay the course, there were unmistakable signs that the recovery would be robust. For instance, 1,100,000 jobs were created in September, 1983. That job growth was tied to a robust recovery which featured several quarters of 6-8% GDP growth.
Economic growth during this administration has been pathetic. The economy only grew by 1.2% in 2011. The Q1/2012 GDP number was just revised downward to 1.7%.
Based on those figures, President Obama simply isn’t credible when he says that the economy “has turned the corner.” I’d believe him if he said we might be heading for another nosedive but I don’t believe that we’re heading in the right direction.
Tags: President Obama, Jobs Report, GDP, Recession, Unemployment, Reaganomics, GOP, Election 2012