The economy has lost 3.1 million private sector jobs since President Bush took office, a job loss rate of
108,000 per month.
No president since Herbert Hoover has seen job losses during his tenure. Private sector job growth
has ranged from 1.3 million jobs under President Ford to 20.8 million jobs under President Clinton.
- To match the number of private sector jobs created under President Ford, the economy would
have to create 235,000 private sector jobs per month for the remainder of the Bush
Administration.
- To avoid being the first President since the Great Depression to experience private sector job
losses on his watch, President Bush would have to see growth of 165,000 private sector jobs
per month for the rest of his term.
Because using the total number of jobs created as a measure is biased against presidents who served
for fewer years or presided over an economy that was smaller than it is today, a more accurate
measure of job growth under various presidents may be the average annual growth rate.
- As the only President to lose jobs since Herbert Hoover, President Bush has the worst
performance by this standard as well. So far, the economy has lost private sector jobs at an
annual rate of 1.2 percent under President Bush.
- The second worst job creation record belongs to the President's father. In the first Bush
Administration, private sector jobs grew at an annual rate of 0.4 percent. Presidents Ford and
Eisenhower are the only two other presidents with rates below 1 percent. Under President
Clinton, the average annual rate of increase was 2.6 percent.
- To catch up to his father and avoid having the worst job creation record of any president since
Hoover, President Bush would have to see growth of 242,000 private sector jobs per month for
the rest of his term.
Note: The above figures are based on private sector employment, but the picture changes very little if one looks at total jobs.
Government employment has increased during the Bush Administration and total job losses under President Bush are 2.5
million, with an average annual job loss rate of 0.7 percent. Every other president since Hoover has seen an increase in total
jobs (under President Clinton, we saw 22.7 million new jobs, an annual growth rate of 2.4 percent). The weakest growth rate
before President Bush came under his father's Administration, when total employment increased at an annual rate of 0.6
percent. Total employment would have to increase by 267,000 jobs per month over the remainder of his term for President
Bush to match his father's performance and avoid having the worst record of any of the past 12 presidents. It would have to
increase by 130,000 jobs per month for him to avoid losing jobs over his full term.
