¶ Jobs And Employment
¶ Under Trump, The U.S. Economy Lost Millions Of Jobs, Earning Him The Worst Jobs Record Of Any President In Recent History
Under Trump, The Economy Lost 2.9 Million Jobs. According to FactCheck.org, “The statistics for the entirety of Donald Trump’s time in office are nearly all compiled. As we did for his predecessor four years ago, we present a final look at the numbers. The economy lost 2.9 million jobs.” [FactCheck.org, 10/8/21]
Trump Left Office With A -0.5 Percent Job Growth Rate In Comparison To 1 Percent At The End Of The Obama Administration. According to Newsweek, “According to an analysis by Fortune, U.S. employment was increasing at an annualized rate of 1.5 percent before the pandemic hit, but Trump is leaving office with a -0.5 percent annualized job growth rate. By comparison, during President Barack Obama’s eight years in office, which included the Great Recession, U.S. employment showed 1 percent annualized growth.” [Newsweek, 1/19/21]
¶ Trump Ended His Term With Fewer Jobs Than When He Entered Office
Trump Ended His Term With Fewer Jobs Than When He Started. According to ABC News, “On the campaign trail, Trump claimed to be laser-focused on bringing back manufacturing and mining jobs, renegotiating trade deals that led to work disappearing overseas and curtailing immigration. […] Yet as he leaves after his one-term tenure, Trump has become the first president since Herbert Hoover during the Great Depression to depart office with fewer jobs in the country than when he entered.” [ABC News, 1/20/21]
¶ Trump’s Record On Jobs Is The Worst In Modern American History Among Presidents
The Trump Administration Ended With The Worst Employment Record In Modern American History. According to Newsweek, “Despite previous claims that he presided over the ‘greatest economy in the history of our country,’ Trump’s economic legacy was crippled in the last year of his term because of the coronavirus. The jobs report released by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on January 8 shows his employment record will be the worst in modern American history.” [Newsweek, 1/19/21]
The Trump Administration Had Worst Jobs Record In Modern American History.
[Washington Post, 1/8/21]
¶ Jobs In Key Economic Sectors Saw Losses Under Trump
Manufacturing Jobs Decreased Under The Trump Administration. According to Yahoo Finance, “Another measure is manufacturing jobs. Trump often touted his success in bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. That figure (seasonally adjusted) over the last four years also shows a decrease. There were 12.37 million manufacturing workers in 2017 and there are 12.31 million now.” [Yahoo Finance, 1/8/21]
Economist: Trump "Put Manufacturing Into A Recession." According to Polaski in an interview on the Brookings Trade Podcast, “So over the years of the Obama administration there was a gradual recovery in manufacturing jobs and hours worked. Trump managed to destroy that through his ill-advised tariff tantrums in a short two years and put manufacturing into a recession. He was like a child taking a toy, a nice toy that somebody had, playing rough with it and breaking it. And this was even before the economy went into a tailspin due to his mishandling of the coronavirus.” [Brookings Trade Podcast, 10/19/20]
Economist: Trump Ended With 2,000 Fewer Workers In The Steel Industry Than When It Began. According to Polaski in an interview on the Brookings Trade Podcast, “So, after a very brief increase, the steel industry itself started to shed jobs even before the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. Today, it employs almost 2,000 fewer workers than it did when Trump took office.” [Brookings Trade Podcast, 10/19/20]
¶ Under Trump, Unemployment Grew by 1.6% To 6.3%
Unemployment Rose By 1.6% Under Trump To 6.3%. According to FactCheck.org, “The statistics for the entirety of Donald Trump’s time in office are nearly all compiled. As we did for his predecessor four years ago, we present a final look at the numbers. […] The unemployment rate increased by 1.6 percentage points to 6.3%. “ [FactCheck.org, 10/8/21]
USA Today: Trump Had “Highest Unemployment Rate Preceding A Presidential Election Since The Government Began Tracking." According to USA Today, “The September numbers from the Labor Department report reflected a bounce-back in the economy; the unemployment rate reached 13.3% in May but fell to 7.9% in September. Nonetheless, this is the highest unemployment rate preceding a presidential election since the government began tracking monthly rates in 1948, according to CNN. Tracking job growth figures from Truman to Trump reveals unprecedented job losses during the Trump administration. CAP’s assertion that Trump is the worst jobs president in history appears to be true based on available data.” [USA Today, 11/6/20]
Under Trump, The U.S. Was Set Back To 1999 Employment Levels. According to Fortune, “In a two-month period, February to April 2020, the unemployment rate soared to an 80-year high and the number of employed Americans fell from 152.5 million to 130.3 million. Those 22.2 million job losses set U.S. employment back to 1999 levels.” [Fortune, 1/11/21]
¶ Trade
¶ Trump Saw The Trade Deficit Grow Under His Watch To The Worst In Recent History
The International Trade Deficit Increased 40.5% Under Trump. According to FactCheck.org, “The international trade deficit Trump promised to reduce went up. The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services in 2020 was the highest since 2008 and increased 40.5% from 2016.” [FactCheck.org, 10/8/21]
Economist: Under The Trump Administration, The Trade Deficit Was The Worst In U.S. History. According to Polaski in an interview on the Brookings Trade Podcast, “The overall trade deficit, including both goods and services, has gotten worse every year of Trump’s presidency than it was when he took over from Obama. The deficit in goods alone— think manufactured goods, think inputs, intermediate goods— all of those things that you can touch and handle, the things that would bring jobs back, has actually been the worst in the last couple of years that it has ever been in U.S. history. So that’s a good first indication of how Trump scores on his trade approach. By the way, this year the trade deficit is on track to again set a record as the worst ever in U.S. history.” [Brookings Trade Podcast, 10/19/20]
The U.S. Trade Deficit "Soared To Its Highest Level Since 2008" Under Trump. According to Politico, “The U.S. trade deficit over the four years of President Donald Trump’s presidency soared to its highest level since 2008, despite his tough tariff tactics intended to bring it down, a new Commerce Department report showed on Friday. The combined U.S. goods and services trade deficit increased to $679 billion in 2020, compared to $481 billion in 2016, the year before Trump took office. The trade deficit in goods alone hit $916 billion, a record high and an increase of about 21 percent from 2016.” [Politico, 2/5/21]
¶ U.S. Exports To China Saw A Decrease Under Trump
U.S. Goods And Services Exports to China Decreased By $20 Billion Under Trump. According to Politico, “Under that agreement, China is supposed to increase purchases of U.S. goods and services by $200 billion above 2017 levels over two years. That includes $76.7 billion in increased purchases in 2020 and $123.3 billion in 2021. U.S. goods exports to China in January through December 2020 were $110 billion, about $20 billion less than in 2017. In addition, U.S. services exports to China were about $28 billion through the first three quarters of 2020, compared to $55 billion in all of 2017.” [Politico, 2/5/21]
¶ Trump’s Trade Policies Left Lingering, Dangerous Effects On The Economy
Trump's Tariffs Could Reduce GDP, Wages, And Jobs. According to the Tax Foundation, “According to the Tax Foundation model, the tariffs imposed under the Trump administration and remaining in place under the Biden administration will reduce long-run GDP by 0.22 percent ($55.7 billion) and wages by 0.14 percent and eliminate 173,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Other countries imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports, which we estimate will further reduce U.S. GDP by 0.04 percent ($9.4 billion) and eliminate 29,000 full-time equivalent jobs.” [Tax Foundation, 4/1/22]
Trump’s Trade Policies Could Cost The Economy Almost A Quarter Million Jobs. According to Carnegie Endowment, “A recent study on U.S.-China trade concludes that Trump’s trade policies cost the U.S. economy nearly a quarter million jobs. But its obsolete understanding of trade flows ends up pointing trade policymakers in the wrong direction.” [Carnegie Endowment, 1/28/21]
Trump's Tariffs Cost American Companies $46 Billion Between 2018 And 2020. According to Reuters, “Tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump to restructure the United States’s top trade relationships have cost American companies $46 billion since February 2018, and U.S. exports of goods hit by retaliatory tariffs have fallen sharply, according to an analysis of Commerce Department data.” [Reuters, 1/9/20]
Exports Of U.S. Goods Affected By Retaliatory Tariffs Under Trump Fell By 23% And Failed To Bounce Back After The Tariffs Were Lifted. According to Reuters, “Exports of U.S. goods hit by retaliatory tariffs from China and other countries fell by 23% in the 12 months ended November, compared with 2017, before the tariffs began, the analysis showed. Even when retaliatory tariffs have ended, those exports haven’t bounced back, said Trade Partnership Vice President Dan Anthony.” [Reuters, 1/9/20]
Nevada And New Hampshire Saw Their Exports Drop By Twice The National Average. According to Reuters, “Two states that hold early primaries in the 2020 presidential election, Nevada and New Hampshire, saw their exports of goods facing retaliatory tariffs drop by nearly twice the national average, Anthony said. Nevada exports integrated circuits and New Hampshire produces computer and electronics products.” [Reuters, 1/9/20]
Exports Affected By Trump's Tariffs Did Not Rebound. According to Reuters, “Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in February of 2018. U.S. exports to countries that retaliated with tariffs of their own were 15% below their 2017 levels in the 12 months ending November 2019, he said. After Washington rolled back these tariffs for Mexico and Canada, the two countries eliminated retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in May, but U.S. exports of affected products have not rebounded. ‘The expectation was that trade would start growing again, but that hasn’t happened in the last six months,’ Anthony said. ‘It raises questions about all other exports that have declined. There’s no guarantee that those sales will rebound if or when those retaliatory tariffs go away.’” [Reuters, 1/9/20]
¶ Gross Domestic Product
¶ Gross Domestic Product Had Its Largest Drop Since 1947 Under Trump
Trump Oversaw The Largest Annual Drop Since 1947 According to FactCheck.org, “Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. economy began slowing down. The real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product went up in Trump’s first two years, peaking at an estimated 2.9% in 2018 — the highest since 2005. But the economy grew only 2.3% in 2019 and the bottom fell out in 2020. The real GDP declined 3.4% in 2020 from the previous year. It was the largest drop since 1947, when the nation’s economy declined 11.6% after years of economic expansion fueled by World War II.” [FactCheck.org, 10/8/21]
¶ Poverty
¶ The Poverty Rate Increased Under Trump
Under The Trump Administration, The Poverty Rate Increased For The First Time After 5 Years Of Declines. According to FactCheck.org, “As incomes decreased, the official poverty rate increased about 1% from 2019. It was at 11.4% in 2020, up from 10.5% in 2019. It was the first increase in the official poverty rate after five consecutive years of declines, dropping 1.3 percentage points in 2015, 0.8 points in 2016, 0.4 points and 0.5 points in Trump’s first two years, and 1.3 points in 2019. In 2020, there were 37.2 million people in poverty, nearly 3.3 million more than in 2019.” [FactCheck.org, 10/8/21]
¶ National Debt
¶ The National Debt Increased Under Trump
During The Trump Administration, The National Debt Grew By 50%, Or More Than $7 Trillion. According to FactCheck.org, “Rather, the amount the federal government has borrowed from the public went up by 50% during Trump’s time in office — from $14.4 trillion on the day he was inaugurated to $21.6 trillion the day his successor was sworn in.” [FactCheck.org, 10/8/21]
The U.S. Recorded The Largest Annual Deficit Under Trump. According to FactCheck.org, “Trump left office almost four months after the U.S. recorded its largest annual deficit of $3.1 trillion in fiscal year 2020.” [FactCheck.org, 10/8/21]
Debt As A Percentage Of The Economy Grew Under Trump. According to FactCheck.org, “Likewise, the debt as a percentage of the economy also grew under Trump, rising from 76.2% of GDP in fiscal year 2016 to 100.1% of GDP in fiscal year 2020, according to figures from the Office of Management and Budget.” [FactCheck.org, 10/8/21]
¶ Consumer Costs
¶ Oil And Gas Prices Increased Under The Trump Administration
Trump's Decision To Withdraw From The Iran Nuclear Deal Resulted In An Increase In Gas Prices. According to the Center for American Progress, “President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States is withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear agreement drove up global oil prices, contributing to an immediate jump in U.S. gas prices. On May 8, President Trump formally announced that he will reimpose economic sanctions on Iran, which will restrict Iran’s ability to sell its oil on the world market and reduce available global oil supplies.” [Center for American Progress, 5/23/22]
The Price Of Oil Rose 32% During Trump's Last Month In Office. According to Forbes, “In the last three months of the Trump Administration, oil prices rose by 32% as demand bounced back. From a monthly average of $39.40/bbl in October 2020 (source), the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) averaged $52.00/bbl in January 2021 — Trump’s last month in office.” [Forbes , 3/13/22]
¶ Insurance Costs Rose Under Trump Due To His Sabotage Of The Affordable Care Act
Insurance Costs Rose For Americans With Marketplace Plans Under Trump. According to Center for American Progress, “The number of uninsured Americans has swelled, his administration has chipped away at the consumer protections guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), costs have risen for Americans with marketplace plans, and the nation is mired in a public health crisis.” [Center for American Progress, 9/25/20
¶ Appliance Costs Rose Under Trump Due To His Trade Policies
Laundry And Appliance Costs Rose Under The Trump Administration. According to Los Angeles Times, “Goldman Sachs analysts said in a report that when they grouped together nine of the CPI product categories affected by the tariffs so far, including laundry and other appliances, furniture and auto parts, it showed those consumer prices increased ‘much more’ than other core goods prices in the CPI. When the additional tariff costs consumers paid in the latter part of last year are annualized, the cost per household is about $419, said David Weinstein, a professor of economics at Columbia University who coauthored a working paper released by London’s Centre for Economic Policy Research on the effect of the Trump administration’s 2018 trade policy on U.S. prices.” [Los Angeles Times, 5/19/19]
After 5 Years Of Price Declines, "The CPI Of Major Appliances Increased By About 10%" Under Trump. According to the Los Angeles Times, “After the Trump administration announced tariffs in January 2018 on imported large washing machines, the CPI of major appliances increased by about 10%, according to the Centre for Economic Policy Research working paper. That change came despite the fact that the appliances price index had been steadily declining since 2013, according to the paper. After the tariff announcement, the index started to rapidly climb. The median price for a washing machine before the tariff announcement was $749, according to a paper released in April and coauthored by researchers from the Federal Research Board, University of Chicago and the National Bureau of Economic Research. The tariffs added $86 to that, the paper said.” [Los Angeles Times, 5/19/19]
¶ Home Building Costs Grew Under Trump
The Cost Of Home-Building Increased Under Trump. According to the Los Angeles Times, “The tariffs to date also have hit the home-building industry, and already have added $1 billion to the costs of U.S. housing construction, according to the National Assn. of Home Builders. That could jump to $2.5 billion with the latest hike in tariffs by the Trump administration, the trade group said.” [Los Angeles Times, 5/19/19]
¶ Trump’s Tariffs Also Caused A Rise Of Costs Of Goods Like Luggage And Backpacks
Backpack And Luggage Prices Increased Under The Trump Administration Due To The President’s Trade Policies. According to Los Angeles Times, “About 82% of the luggage sold in the U.S. is imported from China, and luggage was among the items that came under the initial 10% tariff last September, according to the Travel Goods Assn., a trade group whose members include luggage companies. But since the start of this year, retail prices for luggage have climbed 5% to 10%, he said. And they are likely to jump an additional 10% to 15% if the new 25% tariff on Chinese imports remains in place, he said. The same is true with backpacks, which already have risen about 5% at the retail level this year and could climb an additional 10% to 15%, Herman said.” [Los Angeles Times, 5/19/19]
¶ Food Costs Increased Under Trump
Due To The Tariffs Imposed By Trump, Prices For Imports Increased For America Business Which Caused Prices To Increase For American Consumers. According to New York Times, “In some cases, European producers will be forced to foot the bill, most likely by dipping into their profits or forgoing spending on new hires and other expenses. In other cases, European companies will pass those costs on to American businesses that import and sell their products and to the Americans who buy them. Ultimately, it’s very likely that Americans will see some price increases at the store. And that could slow spending on European wine, liquor and other goods heading into a normally busy holiday season, industry groups say.” [New York Times, 10/3/19]
Trump's Tariffs Raised Prices On French Wines. According to New York Times, “The 25 percent tariff could raise the retail price of French wines in the United States by up to 30 percent, said Louis-Fabrice Latour, the president of the Federation of French Wine and Spirits Exporters and head of the Burgundy wine producers’ association. Pouilly-Fuissé, a popular white Burgundy wine, could rise from an average of around $25 per bottle to over $30, with price increases starting to be felt mainly after Christmas, when existing stocks of French wines in the United States run down, Mr. Latour said.” [New York Times, 10/3/19]
The U.S. Spirits Industry Was Damaged By Trump's Tariffs. According to New York Times, “Chris Swonger, the president of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, called the move ‘a devastating blow to the U.S. spirits industry.’ He added, ‘Distillers on both sides of the Atlantic have become collateral damage in matters that are completely unrelated to our industry.’” [New York Times, 10/3/19]
¶ Supply Chains
¶ The Supply Chain Struggled Under Trump
Supply Chain Issues Were A Problem During Trump's Presidency, Especially During The Pandemic. According to the American Independent, “Supply chain disruptions were a major problem during Trump’s presidency, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe in 2020. The pipeline for personal protective equipment (PPE) was hit particularly hard: hospitals and other medical responders reported a lack of masks and other supplies in their battle against the virus.” [American Independent, 12/2/21]
¶ Taxes
¶ Trump’s Tax Plan Hurt Middle Class Americans To Benefit The Wealthiest Americans
Brookings: Trump’s Signature Tax Law Almost Entirely Benefitted The Wealthy According to Brookings, “THE 2017 TAX LAW DOESN’T HELP THE MIDDLE CLASS. The new tax law—known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)—will exacerbate this trend. The benefits of the law tilt toward the well-off both now and in the future, according to the distributional analysis of the Tax Policy Center. By 2027, benefits of the tax law flow entirely to the rich. “ [Brookings, 10/16/18]
Middle-Class Hit With Big Tax Increases And Spending Cuts Under Trump. According to Brookings, “Finally, deficit-financing means that middle-class households will likely be hit with big tax increases or spending cuts later and interest rates will rise in the interim as government borrowing explodes. While revenue-neutral, pro-growth tax reform (rather than costly tax cuts) is possible and desirable, the TCJA falls far short of this standard.” [Brookings, 10/16/18]
Trump's Tax Plan Reduced Tax Savings For Middle-Class And Working Families. According to Center for American Progress, “Under current law, taxpayers can claim personal exemptions of $4,050 each for themselves, their spouse, and any dependents—including children—and deduct the total amount in calculating taxable income.6 Eliminating personal exemptions would reduce the overall cost of the Trump plan by roughly $2 trillion over 10 years. However, these savings would significantly reduce the tax savings for middle-class and working families; in fact, many could see a net tax increase as a result.” [Center for American Progress, 6/13/17]
Trump's Tax Plan Was Set To Increase Taxes For Most Americans Beginning In 2021. According to Newsweek, “Despite the president’s claims, the 2018 tax cuts were not the biggest in history in absolute terms or as a measure of GDP. While Trump has repeatedly touted further tax cuts for middle class Americans, the Republican tax reforms will mean tax increases for most Americans between 2021 and 2027.” [Newsweek, 11/1/20]
¶ Trump’s tax plan Was Skewed In Favor Of The Rich and corporations
Rolling Stone: Trump's Tax Cut "Showered Wealth On The Richest, Offering The Middle Class A Drop In The Bucket." According to Rolling Stone, “This cycle has played out twice in plain view: First with Trump’s 2017 tax cut, which showered wealth on the richest, offering the middle class a drop in the bucket, and now with a pandemic response that has inflated the wealth of billionaires, even as main-street America reels under a Depression-level crisis.” [Rolling Stone, 10/26/20]
Trump's Tax Plan Threatened The Middle Class For The Benefit Of The Rich. According to Center for American Progress, “It finds that middle-class and working families stand to lose dearly under the Trump tax plan in numerous ways: Many middle-class and working families would see tax hikes under the parameters the administration has laid out, even as the plan drastically reduces revenue. Many more families could lose under hidden parts of the plan, which the administration has yet to make public. The Trump tax plan’s massive tax cuts for the rich would threaten investments and programs that serve middle-class and working families, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.” [Center for American Progress, 6/13/17]
Trump’s Tax Law Have A $1.35 Trillion Handout To Big Corporations. According to Rolling Stone, “Income-tax cuts generated an extra $50,0000 a year for America’s highest earners. But the real benefit, $1.35 trillion, went to corporations — and by extension to their top executives and shareholders.” [Rolling Stone, 10/26/20]
¶ Wages
¶ Wages Declined Under Trump
After Factoring In Inflation And Fringe Benefits, Between 2016 And 2019, Wages Actually Declined .22%. According to The Conversation, “From December 2016 to September 2019, nominal wages rose 6.79% from $22.83 to $24.38. But after factoring in inflation, average wages barely budged, climbing just 0.42% in the period. Incorporating fringe benefits into the picture adds another wrinkle. The inflation-adjusted or real value of fringe benefits, which include compensation that comes in the form of health insurance, retirement and bonuses, declined 1.7% in the three-year period. Altogether, that means total real compensation slipped 0.22% from the end of 2016 to September 2019. “ [The Conversation, 2/28/20]
After Inflation And Fringe Benefits Are Accounted For, Under Trump, Compensation For Manufacturing Workers Decreased 4.33%. According to The Conversation, “The nominal data for manufacturing workers hardly support a boom but they do show an increase of 2.22% since Donald Trump took office. The adjusted data, however, make it look more like a bust, with wages plunging 3.88% in the period. And, again, the situation is worse when we add in fringe benefits, which brings the decline to 4.33%.” [The Conversation, 2/28/20]