Biden touts huge job reports as US vaccination rate hits 50%

President Biden trumpeted July’s strong jobs report on Friday as proof that his economic plans are working, but stressed that there was still work to be done to ensure the full recovery of the economy as the Delta variant continues to spread.

Why is this important: The United States created 943,000 jobs in July, as the unemployment rate fell from 5.9% to a new pandemic-era low of 5.4%. But the jobs survey was carried out in mid-July – meaning it does not fully reflect the possible effects of the recent increase in COVID-19 infections caused by the Delta variant.

Driving the news: Cyrus Shahpar, White House COVID-19 Data Director announcement As of Friday, half of the American population is now fully vaccinated.

• The seven-day average of those newly vaccinated is up 11% from last week and 44% in the past two weeks, according to Shapar.
• In a speech to the White House on Friday, Biden explicitly linked the economic recovery and the accelerating pace of vaccinations.

What they say : Biden pointed out that his administration was the first to create 4 million jobs in its first six months, but insisted his post was not one of celebration.

• “This new wave of the Delta variant of COVID-19 will be very different… And yes, the cases are going to increase before they go down again. It’s an unvaccinated pandemic.… It’s wreaking unnecessary havoc in our country,” Biden said.
• “We still have a lot of hard work to do, both to beat the Delta variant and to continue our progress towards economic recovery. We all know where it starts,” he continued.
• “Today around 400 people will die from the Delta variant in this country. A tragedy. Because virtually all of these deaths could have been prevented if people had been vaccinated.”