The Obama Jobs Recovery*�Picture Book�He claims his policies have worked. �What do you think?�
Rich Lowrie
Senior Advisor, Cain’s Solutions
www.twitter.com/richlowrie
* The term jobs recovery is a bit oxymoronic since we still haven’t recovered the lost jobs yet.�
This is the jobs picture when Obama was elected. Employment was 1.55% below the peak of the 2007 recession, making it only the 6th worst jobs picture relative to all 11 post-war recessions. Employment stood at 135.846 million
With a convincing win, full control of congress, and nothing to stop him, jobs deteriorated for 16 straight months, even though GDP was in recovery mode for the last 8 of those months. Jobs declined from 135.843 mil to 129.244 mil, pushing employment 6.33% below the 2007 peak. Obama quickly moved into last place vs. other recoveries. Then something happened…�
His agenda stalled when the people elected a Republican to, gasp, Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts senate seat, taking away Obama’s 60th vote. For the next 8 months, employment ticked up slightly from 129.244 mil --- to 130.105 mil, still 5.7% below the peak. Then something else happened…
The Obama agenda was fully repudiated by the Republican midterm landslide, one of historic proportions. Since then, jobs increased 20 straight months, albeit modestly, to 133.088 mil. By this time all other recessions have fully regained their lost jobs, yet we are still 3.547% below the 2007 peak. Imagine the opportunities we’ve missed by not at least keeping pace with past recessions?
Trivia: How many jobs must Obama create today just to catch up and tie for last place with the previous worst jobs recovery? Only 6.7 million!!�(Give that man an 11th Place ribbon and tell him he won something)
Did his policies work, as the President claims? �Only if his goal was to come in last place.��Don’t be fooled when Obama touts how many jobs have been created. ��We lost jobs every single month until his agenda was stalled when he lost his 60th vote in the Senate. ��Only afterwards have we added any jobs, with most of those gains occurring since the Republican landslide in the House fully repudiated his agenda. �This marked a collective sigh of relief by job creators that the worst just might be over.��From now on, notice that every time Obama quotes a jobs figure, he begins his measurement period (eg. “In the last 27 months…) from the time his agenda was stopped.�� In John Kerryesque fashion, his policies worked - as soon as they were stopped.�