The economy just added another 390,000 jobs in May -- extending a mind-blowing streak of huge jobs gains every month since January 2021 (we lost jobs in December 2020). During that time, the worst month had 263,000 jobs created, which is still above average. Overall, for all the full months with Biden in office, we've added a total of 8.665 million jobs.
So, when was the last time we added that many jobs over a period of that length? It's a trick question. It never happened. Before Biden took office, the most jobs added in a period of this length was 6.082 million, back at the start of WWII. So, we just blew the old record out of the water by over 42%!
Even in proportional terms, it's extraordinary growth -- the best in almost 40 years.... and all the more amazing because it was achieved in a setting of falling deficits and rising interest rates. The other times in history when payrolls expanded this much proportionally were periods of massive fiscal and monetary stimulus, not fiscal and monetary drag.
Other good news includes the fact the labor force participation rate edged up... in effect the unemployment rate held steady because even as jobless people were being hired, "discouraged workers" (people who weren't even looking for a job before, meaning they didn't count as unemployed) were returning to the market. This also led to the employment-population ratio edging up a bit.
We're still not quite back to where we were at the end of 2019, but we're very close. Back then, we had 151.789 million jobs, and now it's 151.682 million. If we keep on the present pace, we'll beat that 2019 number next month, and set a new all-time high sometime this summer. The Fed is trying to cool the economy, so it's far from certain that'll happen, but for now workers have it good, with the ability to demand raises, benefits, and decent treatment from their bosses.
So, when was the last time we added that many jobs over a period of that length? It's a trick question. It never happened. Before Biden took office, the most jobs added in a period of this length was 6.082 million, back at the start of WWII. So, we just blew the old record out of the water by over 42%!
Even in proportional terms, it's extraordinary growth -- the best in almost 40 years.... and all the more amazing because it was achieved in a setting of falling deficits and rising interest rates. The other times in history when payrolls expanded this much proportionally were periods of massive fiscal and monetary stimulus, not fiscal and monetary drag.
Other good news includes the fact the labor force participation rate edged up... in effect the unemployment rate held steady because even as jobless people were being hired, "discouraged workers" (people who weren't even looking for a job before, meaning they didn't count as unemployed) were returning to the market. This also led to the employment-population ratio edging up a bit.
We're still not quite back to where we were at the end of 2019, but we're very close. Back then, we had 151.789 million jobs, and now it's 151.682 million. If we keep on the present pace, we'll beat that 2019 number next month, and set a new all-time high sometime this summer. The Fed is trying to cool the economy, so it's far from certain that'll happen, but for now workers have it good, with the ability to demand raises, benefits, and decent treatment from their bosses.