Unemployment falls in January: What did President Biden say about the jobs report?

On Friday the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the January jobs report, detailing an astonishing period of growth to start the year. More than half a million new nonfarm payroll jobs were added in January alone, far exceeding prior estimates.

In addition to that the unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, the lowest rate seen in the United States in 54 years.

President Biden was understandably thrilled with the progress made in January, a month that marked two years since he entered the Oval Office and the midpoint in this term of his presidency. On Friday morning he held a brief press conference from the White House to announce the results.

Here’s what he had to say about the January jobs report…

Biden celebrates ‘strongest two years’ of growth

The President’s economic credentials have been questioned in recent months, with Republicans in Congress claiming that his extensive infrastructure spending had failed to have the desired effect. Inflation has been high throughout the past year but this promising jobs report suggests that federal spending has reaped rewards.

“We learned this morning that the economy has created 517,000 jobs just last month,” Biden began.

“We created 12 million jobs since I took office. That means we have created more jobs in two years than any presidential term, than any time, in two years. That’s the strongest two years of job growth in history by a longshot.”

Inflationary pressures are beginning to subside

Inflation has been one of the defining issues of Biden’s presidency and remains a major economic concern for Americans. In Friday’s press conference he claimed that inflation was falling in the United States and would continue to do so.

“Even as the job market reaches historic highs, inflation continues to come down. Inflation has now fallen for six straight months. Gas prices are down more than $1.50 a gallon since their peak,” Biden said.

And as inflation is coming down, take-home pay for workers is going up. Real wages are up. Wages for lower-income and middle-income workers have gone up even more.”

Further healthcare and infrastructure spending incoming

Federal spending is a particularly contentious issue at the moment with House Republicans refusing to pass a debt ceiling increase without the promise of future spending cuts. Biden has insisted that Congress must pass a clean bill to raise the debt limit, and has doubled down on his belief that federal spending is integral to economic growth.

On Friday he said that his administration would continue to invest to bolster economic growth and improve conditions.

“We’re going to keep lowering costs for families — from lowering costs in healthcare, prescription drugs, clean energy — because we passed that legislation. We’re going to be rolling it out this whole year.

We’re going to keep seeing shovels hitting the ground all around the country to rebuild the infrastructure and supply chains, manufacturing more here at home.”