https://thinkprogress.org/trump-job...obs-created-in-the-last-6-years-0465cb9b54c2/Trump’s much-hyped ‘job boom’ is fake news: 2017 was the worst year for job creation since 2011
Sad!
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised he’d be the “greatest jobs president God ever created.” And as his administration has become increasingly embroiled in scandal during the first year of his presidency, Trump has routinely fallen back on bragging about the allegedly unbelievable job creation he’s overseen.
But there’s just one problem — according to the latest jobs data, 2017 saw the most anemic job growth in America since Obama’s first term, when the economy was pulling out of the Great Recession he inherited from George W. Bush.
“U.S. job gains slowed by more than forecast in December, wage growth picked up slightly and the unemployment rate held at the lowest level since 2000, adding to signs of a full-employment economy,” Bloomberg reported. “The job gains, while less than forecast, bring the 2017 total to 2.06 million jobs — below 2016.”
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2.06 million jobs created last year were actually the fewest in a year since 2011. Here’s the year-by-year breakdown of jobs added since then.
Even Trump’s favorite TV network — Fox News, which largely covers him uncritically — acknowledges that average monthly job gains during Trump’s first year were the least since 2010.
Fox News Research
@FoxNewsResearch
Average Monthly #Job Gains
-by year
•2017: 171,000
•2016: 187,000
•2015: 226,000
•2014: 250,000
•2013: 192,000
•2012: 179,000
•2011: 174,000
•2010: 88,000
#JobsReport
With an underwhelming job creation record, Trump’s economic brags of late have mostly been about the stock market.
But the percentage of Americans who own stock is at a historic low — according to research Gallup conducted in 2016, “slightly more than half of Americans (52 percent) say they currently have money in the stock market, matching the lowest ownership rate in Gallup’s 19-year trend.”
In short, stock market gains aren’t necessarily benefiting working-class Americans, and the latest jobs data shows that wages aren’t rising much either. And while Trump is in the habit of touting how the Republican tax cut bill will juice the economy, nonpartisan analyses have concluded that the vast majority of the benefits will accrue to the top one percent.
And as is the case with job creation, Trump’s first-year record with regard to the stock market underperformed Obama’s.
The 2017 jobs numbers also indicate that Trump is misguided in his oft-professed belief that rolling back regulations creates jobs.
During the Obama years, Trump routinely argued that government data showing the job market steadily pulling out of the Great Recession were fake — he called the BLS’ unemployment rate “one of the biggest hoaxes in American modern politics.” But in March, then-Press Secretary Sean Spicer clarified that while the numbers “may have been phony in the past,” they are “very real now.”
In other words, Trump has already foreclosed the possibility of dismissing his unimpressive job creation record as fake news. Sad!
Trump's job boom is fake news
- Thread starter Johan
- Start date
Think Progress.. lol
Apples to oranges, Trump is creating full time jobs not part time jobs due to Obamacare hourly reductions.
The same kind of smoke and mirrors that made Obama the “deporter in chief”.
Apples to oranges, Trump is creating full time jobs not part time jobs due to Obamacare hourly reductions.
The same kind of smoke and mirrors that made Obama the “deporter in chief”.
Rey C.
Racing is life... anything else is just waiting.
Just picking this out and going somewhat off topic, but if instead of racking up credit card debt to buy "wants" and keep up with the Jonses ( Credit Card Debt Hits Record High Before the Holidays ), let's imagine the wealth effect on the middle class if more of that 48% of nonparticipants had equity investments. So many people don't even participate in their company sponsored 401k to a level that they receive the full company match. That's FREE money. How do you get any better than free?! Perhaps middle class Americans should spend more time learning the basic fundamentals of investing, and less time playing on Fakebook and with video games. More time spent on personal development and education and less time (and money) spent on unneeded superficial things. OK, rant over.
Back to the topic... yes, Trump can only be matched by the likes of Don King when it comes to exaggeration and hyperbole. But at the same time, I'm pleased that we're continuing to see relatively solid job gains. And many economists (unbiased ones) believe that we are at, or very close to, full employment - and that is beginning to have a positive effect on skilled labor wages. Remember, there is no such thing as a 0% unemployment rate, no matter which measure you choose to look at. And even though I think the macro gains from the (corporate) tax reform legislation may be overstated by the administration, that fiscal policy action will have some positive effect on GDP, and most likely jobs and wages. How much is admittedly open to debate. And to be fair, when Obama and the Democrats put targeted tax breaks in place for business investment during the Great Recession, it most certainly did produce positive results. I was disappointed that more wasn't done in that area by them. It's just too bad that Trump and the GOP didn't carve out more tax breaks that would have focused on infrastructure spending. That would have done even more to ramp up hiring and wages in the skilled trades related to construction and manufacturing.
bobjustbob
Proud member of FreeOnes Hall Of Fame. Retired to
Rey, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Your rant about the k can't be repeated enough. I put in 2 bucks and I get an even or 50% match. That's what is called deferred income. Much like pro athletes get in their contracts. You leave the company and you get to keep the money. What more can you ask for?
I know a kid (guy in his early 20's). Had a big drug habit then quit. Hasn't worked in the last 2 years. He's built up over $40k monitoring his k. Flipping between funds. Some day trading too. He is now on the brink of scoring a job as a financial advisor. It's ironical and true. If you can't manage your money, you can't manage your life.
And it don't cost much. 5% out of a check ANYONE can spare. Tell the kids to get a job and pay for their own phone. That teaches hem responsibility. I can't stand people that believe their lives should depend upon handouts.
I know a kid (guy in his early 20's). Had a big drug habit then quit. Hasn't worked in the last 2 years. He's built up over $40k monitoring his k. Flipping between funds. Some day trading too. He is now on the brink of scoring a job as a financial advisor. It's ironical and true. If you can't manage your money, you can't manage your life.
And it don't cost much. 5% out of a check ANYONE can spare. Tell the kids to get a job and pay for their own phone. That teaches hem responsibility. I can't stand people that believe their lives should depend upon handouts.
Rey C.
Racing is life... anything else is just waiting.
That's exactly it, Bob. One thing that all of us should be able to agree on (whether liberals or conservatives) is the government can't be counted on to carry us through life. At some point, to some degree, you have to look out for yourself and your own (and your family's) interests.
At least in the private sector, it's quite simply a fact that pensions and defined benefit plans are not coming back. The present and the future is based on defined contribution plans (401Ks, 403Bs, etc.). They're becoming the standard in the public sector too. Even the military is moving in this direction as of the beginning of this year.
Do you think being a millionaire is out of the question for you? Think again. If you avoid consumer debt and start investing when you're in your twenties or thirties, you can be a millionaire. Here's how.
From a typical $50,000/year gross income, setting your 401K deduction to 6% and getting the typical 3% company match, gives you $4500/year, or $375/month going into your retirement plan. At the historical real rate of return (minus inflation) for the S&P 500 since 1928, 7%, you'd have roughly $1 million in that account within about 40 years. So if you're 25 now, by the time you're 65, you'd be a millionaire. There's nothing magical about any of this. It's just math and the power of compound interest. But in order to capture this, one has to be disciplined and DO IT.
Let's say you don't make $50 grand a year and you can't get to $375/mo. into your 401K. You can only get to $125/mo. So at age 65, you're "only" going to have about $333,000. Ah... poor you.
Life is not fair. There are built in advantages for those who are wealthy. The deck is stacked. The game is rigged. OK, let's accept all of that as being true. But that doesn't absolve you of being responsible for doing all that you can to move your own life in the right direction. Stay away from high interest debt (credit cards, pay day loans, etc.), don't rent furniture or blow your money on dumb shit, while trying to match the dumb shit that your friends buy. Don't worry about what others make, or what others have. Spend less time on FakeBook and more time on the Vanguard and/or Investopedia websites. You can give yourself a FREE financial education... if you choose to.
At least in the private sector, it's quite simply a fact that pensions and defined benefit plans are not coming back. The present and the future is based on defined contribution plans (401Ks, 403Bs, etc.). They're becoming the standard in the public sector too. Even the military is moving in this direction as of the beginning of this year.
Do you think being a millionaire is out of the question for you? Think again. If you avoid consumer debt and start investing when you're in your twenties or thirties, you can be a millionaire. Here's how.
From a typical $50,000/year gross income, setting your 401K deduction to 6% and getting the typical 3% company match, gives you $4500/year, or $375/month going into your retirement plan. At the historical real rate of return (minus inflation) for the S&P 500 since 1928, 7%, you'd have roughly $1 million in that account within about 40 years. So if you're 25 now, by the time you're 65, you'd be a millionaire. There's nothing magical about any of this. It's just math and the power of compound interest. But in order to capture this, one has to be disciplined and DO IT.
Let's say you don't make $50 grand a year and you can't get to $375/mo. into your 401K. You can only get to $125/mo. So at age 65, you're "only" going to have about $333,000. Ah... poor you.
Life is not fair. There are built in advantages for those who are wealthy. The deck is stacked. The game is rigged. OK, let's accept all of that as being true. But that doesn't absolve you of being responsible for doing all that you can to move your own life in the right direction. Stay away from high interest debt (credit cards, pay day loans, etc.), don't rent furniture or blow your money on dumb shit, while trying to match the dumb shit that your friends buy. Don't worry about what others make, or what others have. Spend less time on FakeBook and more time on the Vanguard and/or Investopedia websites. You can give yourself a FREE financial education... if you choose to.
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