Joe Biden clears second consecutive poor jobs report

President Biden swept aside his presidency’s worst employment report on Friday, saying “monthly totals rebound” before leaving without answering reporters’ questions.

Biden showed up for the speech about an hour and a half later than expected and pointed out that the unemployment rate fell to 4.8% in September – the lowest since February 2020 – even though economists say that reflects less of people looking for work.

“Today’s report drops the unemployment rate to 4.8%, a significant improvement from when I took office and a sign that our recovery is moving forward,” Biden said.

“Monthly totals are rebounding, but if you look at the trend it’s strong,” he rationalized. “On average, 600,000 new jobs have been created each month since I took office. In total, job creation in the first eight months of my administration is almost 5 million jobs.

“Now this is progress,” he said.

But the new report showed that the United States created just 194,000 jobs in September, well below economists’ expectations of around 500,000.

The shortfall worsened the hiring slowdown in August, when the United States created 366,000 jobs, according to revised figures released Friday – well below economists’ expectations of 720,000.

Biden and Democrats have sought to use the disappointing news to promote even more federal stimulus – despite Republicans and business owners across the country arguing that it could reduce incentives to work.

“The jobs numbers also remind us that we have important work ahead of us and significant investments that we need to make,” Biden said. “We risk losing our advantage as a nation if we don’t move. “

But Republicans blamed Biden for the bad jobs numbers.

Representative Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said: “If it was a football team with this loss record, the coach would be looking for a new job at this point.

“President Biden now has 944,000 jobs below what he promised in his latest stimulus package and worse, he has lost the confidence of the American people to run the economy.”

Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) Said: “More than 300,000 LESS jobs created than expected in September – further proof that Biden’s economic policies are hurting our country.”

Brad McMillan, director of investments for the Commonwealth Financial Network, explained the drop in the unemployment rate, noting that “the decline in unemployment measures and the participation rate show that the return of people to the labor market has stopped” .

Harvard economist Jason Fruman tweeted, “Job openings: 11.7 million unemployed: 7.7 million The 1.5 job openings per unemployed person are the highest on record.”

Return to work has slowed despite the end of federal supplements last month for unemployed people. Some states still have special aid for the unemployed, as the Delta variant of COVID-19 keeps new infections and deaths high.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Like Biden, sought to reverse the script on the disappointing data.

Pelosi said the report showed Congress must pass a pair of major spending bills titled “Build Back Better” by Biden – including a bipartisan Senate infrastructure bill of $ 1.2 trillion. dollars and a $ 3.5 trillion pending social spending program that faces resistance from the centrists.

“The September jobs report is further proof of the need for Democrats to create a job creation agenda to build back better,” Pelosi said.

“As historic progress in creating jobs, reducing unemployment and overcoming the pandemic has been forged under President Biden and the Congressional Democrats, more needs to be done to protect the financial security of families now and for generations to come.” , she said.