The Labor Department released its January jobs report on Friday, indicating that the final month of the Biden presidency again fell short of expectations, with the revised monthly average for jobs in 2024 being exaggerated. In January, 143,000 jobs were added, which was below economic forecasts for the month, as noted by The New York Times.
“The revised monthly average for all of 2024 is 166,000 jobs, less than previously thought. With upward revisions to November and December, January looks like a step down,” the Times reported. Economists had set expectations of 175,000 new jobs in January, Forbes added.
“Today’s jobs report reveals the Biden economy was far worse than anyone thought, and underscores the necessity of President Trump’s pro-growth policies,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated in response to the report.
“During his first weeks in office, President Trump declared a national energy emergency to Make America Energy Dominant Again, pledged to cut 10 regulations for every new regulatory action, and outlined a plan to deliver the largest tax cut in history for hardworking Americans,” Leavitt added. “President Trump is delivering on his promise to restore our broken economy, revive small business optimism, create jobs, and ignite a new Golden Age for America.”
Biden’s handling of inflation played a significant role in Donald Trump’s election to the presidency in November. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) pointed out in August 2023, one year after the passage of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, that since the beginning of the Biden-Harris administration, grocery costs had risen by about 20%, gas prices had increased nearly 62%, natural gas prices had gone up more than 40%, and the Congressional Budget Office projected rising drug launch prices.
“To me, that is the lasting legacy and differentiator between the two administrations,” Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at SMBC Nikko Securities, stated. “Inflation was two-and-a-half times higher under President Biden than it was under President Trump. “That essentially was the key catalyst for the return to Trump’s policy, which was one of very good growth and low and stable inflation,” LaVorgna added.