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Friday, September 5, 2014

How Many Jobs Has Obama Created or Lost?

February 2015 Highlights and Jobs Reports will be released Friday morning, March 6th.  Details HERE.

This article has been updated for February 2015 HERE. 

The following numbers are outdated.  For current numbers, please see either of the links above.

How many NET jobs created or lost under Obama* as of August 2014?  
How many private sector jobs have been lost or added during Obama's presidency?


How many new jobs in the last 5 1/2 years since Obama was inaugurated?  
How many Americans were working or employed when Obama took office... compared to now?


Numbers for August with latest revisions:

Since the "trough" of the recession in late 2009/early 2010 in seasonally adjusted numbers:
  • 9.4 million MORE jobs in total
  • 10.0 million MORE private sector jobs
  • 8.4 million MORE people working
How many workers were full-time or part-time at the "trough" of the recession in late 2009/early 2010 compared to now?

  • 8.1 million MORE people working full-time.
  • 264,000 MORE people working part-time.  
  • (Yes, despite what you may have heard, from the depth of the recession until now, we have many more additional people working full-time vs. part-time jobs. When a recession hits, companies generally cut back on full-time workers first.  When companies start hiring again, the number of full-time workers increases.)

Since Bush left office & Obama took office (January 2009) in seasonally adjusted numbers:
  • 5.1 million MORE jobs in total
  • 5.8 million MORE private sector jobs
  • 4.2 million MORE people working

How many workers were full-time or part-time when Obama was inaugurated compared to now?

  • 2.8 million MORE people working full-time
  • 1.4 million MORE people working part-time



Have any private jobs been lost (net) over the past 54 months since February 2010?

NO!

  • 54 months of consecutive private-sector job growth.

Have any jobs been lost (net) over the past 47 months since September 2010?


NO!

  • 47 months of consecutive overall job growth.
Are more people unemployed now than when Obama took office in January 2009?  

NO!
  • Despite 1,749,000 MORE people in the labor force (either working or actively looking for work) now vs. January 2009, there are 2,467,000 FEWER people unemployed now than in January 2009. 





*What's the difference between "net" and "gross" jobs gained and lost?


Let's get something straight:  Jobs are lost every week and every month. People are fired, people are laid off, businesses or locations are closed and everybody is let go. 
 

Also people quit every week.  You yourself, dear reader,  may have quit a job at some point in time. 


But people are also HIRED every week and every month.  New businesses open, businesses expand, businesses replace people who have left or been fired.  Every week.  You yourself, dear reader, may have been hired for a job at some point in time.This happens in good times and bad. 

Yes, even in bad times, people are getting hired.  Even in good times, people are let go.  

Now:  The monthly jobs reportupon which this article is based, presents estimates based on surveys as to how many jobs are gained or lost in a given month.  Those numbers are based on the number of new jobs (people getting hired, businesses opening) MINUS the number of jobs that have been cut (people getting fired, people quitting, businesses closing or cutting back).

The monthly jobs report therefore reports NET job growth or loss.  


For 47 months in this country, we have had MORE jobs being added than we have had jobs being cut.  For 54 months in the private sector (not counting federal workers, state or local workers such as teachers, firemen, cops, or people who staff the DMV, only counting people who work for private businesses), we have had MORE jobs added than we have had jobs being cut.


To reiterate:  How many jobs have been created in the last 5 years versus how many jobs have been lost?
All numbers provided on monthly jobs reports, which is what the series on jobs created/lost under Obama is based, are NET jobs numbers.  In other words, they reflect gains after all job losses are subtracted, or they reflect job losses after all gains are added. 
For the past 54 months (as of August 2014), we have had NET gains in private jobs numbers every month.  In other words, in every month since February 2010, more private jobs have been created than have been lost.  In every month since September 2010, more jobs in total have been created than have been lost.
Fact check and important information on these jobs numbers...

The above jobs numbers are from the BLS jobs report of August 2014, which was released in early September 2014.  The surveys used to gather these numbers in August are taken as of the week which includes the 12th day of the month, in this case, August 12, 2014. 

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