Find a Job You Really Want In
Presidents often bear the brunt of economic perceptions, and while their influence is typically marginal, examining job creation during their tenures offers valuable insights into economic trends. Tracking net job changes can provide a straightforward indication of economic health, as higher employment levels generally correlate with a thriving economy.
This analysis covers net job creation or loss by month for U.S. presidents over the past 40 years, starting with Jimmy Carter and concluding with the latest available data for Joe Biden. Data was sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Summary of Findings
- Bill Clinton holds the record for the most jobs created at the end of both his first (11,654,000) and second terms (23,233,000).
- Clinton also achieved the largest single-term job gain, adding nearly 12 million jobs.
- George W. Bush experienced the least job growth during his presidency.
- Three presidents faced recessions during their first terms.
- Only George W. Bush inherited a recession and left his successor with one.
Methodology
We collected data from the BLS on net monthly employment changes, which is readily exportable from their tools. The data includes preliminary figures for the last two months, September and October, which may be revised in future reports.
The list of U.S. presidents and their terms was obtained from Wikipedia.
Each president’s term was indexed to zero, allowing for a clear visualization of cumulative job changes over time.
You can download our compiled dataset here.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
