I don’t usually go political on Fridays but with the party conventions just ended, I can’t help myself today.
Just about every speaker at this week’s Democratic National Convention claimed that the US economy has gained 4.5 million jobs since President Obama took office. For most of us, that seemed like an outlandish claim. While the Dems cheered it at every utterance during the convention (apparently not concerned if it was accurate or not), I decided to look into the basis for this claim.
I didn’t have to look very far. Even the left-leaning CNN had to take issue with it. Believe me, when CNN has to refute a claim made by the Democrats, it has to be pretty bad! Here’s what CNN wrote on Wednesday about the 4.5 million new jobs claim.
QUOTE:
(CNN) — Anyone watching the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night heard the number 4.5 million [new jobs] several times.
“Despite incredible odds and united Republican opposition, our president took action, and now we’ve seen 4.5 million new jobs,” San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, the party’s keynote speaker, said.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who served as President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who followed Obama’s November rival Mitt Romney as governor of Massachusetts, both cited the same number.
Sights and sounds from the DNC
It’s a big-sounding number, given the still-sputtering job market. So we’re giving it a close eyeballing.
The facts:
The number Castro [and most other speakers] cites is an accurate description of the growth of private-sector jobs since January 2010, when the long, steep slide in employment finally hit bottom. But while a total of 4.5 million jobs sounds great, it’s not the whole picture.
Nonfarm private payrolls hit a post-recession low of 106.8 million that month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figure currently stands at 111.3 million as of July.
While that is indeed a gain of 4.5 million, it’s only a net gain of 300,000 over the course of the Obama administration to date. The private jobs figure stood at 111 million in January 2009, the month Obama took office. [Emphasis added.]
And total nonfarm payrolls, including government workers, are down from 133.6 million workers at the beginning of 2009 to 133.2 million in July 2012. There’s been a net loss of nearly 1 million public-sector jobs since Obama took office, despite a surge in temporary hiring for the 2010 census. [Emphasis added.]
Meanwhile, the jobs that have come back aren’t the same ones that were lost.
Are you better off?
According to a study released last week by the liberal-leaning National Employment Law Project, low-wage fields such as retail sales and food service are adding jobs nearly three times as fast as higher-paid occupations.
Conclusion:
The figure of 4.5 million jobs is accurate if you look at the most favorable period and category for the administration. But overall, there are still fewer people working now than when Obama took office at the height of the recession. [Emphasis added.] END QUOTE
Folks, when the honchos at CNN feel compelled to set the record straight, as you just read above, then you know that the 4.5 million new jobs claim was simply over the top. The question is, did you believe it? I didn’t think so!
No, the real question is, was this claim so far out there that it will cause some Democrat voters to waive their hands and simply stay home on November 6? That’s the question! We’ll see.
Finally, there’s something to keep in mind as you read the major polls over the next two months. The pollsters have to factor voter turnout into their equations. Voter turnout was huge in the 2008 election.
According to the Census Bureau, five million more people voted in 2008 than 2004. “The increase included about 2 million more black voters, 2 million more Hispanic voters and about 600,000 more Asian voters…” More young people too.
Will it happen again in November? I doubt it. It’s hard to catch lightning in a bottle once, much less twice.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.