Jobs created during U.S. presidential terms

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Politicians and pundits frequently refer to the ability of the President of the United States to "create jobs" in the U.S. during his term in office. The numbers are most often seen during the election season or in regard to a President's economic legacy. The numbers typically used and most frequently cited by economists are total nonfarm payroll employment numbers as collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on a monthly and annual basis.

1 Methodology
2 Controversy
3 Job creation by term
4 External links and references

[edit] Methodology

The job numbers are collected via a survey of thousands of businesses. The sample establishments are drawn from private nonfarm businesses such as factories, offices, and stores, as well as federal, state, and local government entities. Employees on nonfarm payrolls are those who received pay for any part of the reference pay period (which includes the 12th of the month), including persons on paid leave.

As of 2005, the sample includes about 160,000 businesses and government agencies covering approximately 400,000 individual worksites. These job counts are monthly estimates based on data provided by employers (adjusted annually to a near census of total jobs provided by mandatory unemployment insurance filings) and also reflect those with multiple employers who are counted with each employer.

[edit] Controversy

The exact usefulness of these numbers is debated. They only include nonfarm payroll employment, which excludes certain types of jobs, notably the self-employed. Additionally, for at least the first eight months of a President's term, he inherits a budget proposed and implemented by his predecessor (as well as an overall economy which may be in decline or recovery). Moreover, according to the United States Constitution, the United States Congress is responsible for government spending and thus, regardless of Presidential advocacy, bears constitutional responsibility for such things as spending and tax policy that have enormous effects upon the economy. Furthermore, it is debatable how much effect any President realistically could have on a system as large, diverse, and complex as the U.S. economy. Nevertheless, the nonfarm payrolls number is the one most frequently used in the media and by economists.

For information about the controversy surrounding the accuracy of this survey, see here.

[edit] Job creation by term

Numbers listed here are measured from January of the year at the beginning of the term to the January four years later, when the term ends.

U.S. president	Party	Term years	Start jobs*	End jobs*	created (in millions)	Average annual increase
Herbert Hoover	R	1929-1933	32.1k **	25.7k **	-6.4	-9.0%
Franklin Roosevelt	D	1933-1937	25.7k **	31.2k **	+5.5	+5.3% **
Franklin Roosevelt	D	1937-1941	31.2k **	34,480	+3.3	+2.6% **
Franklin Roosevelt	D	1941-1945	34,480	41,903	+7.4	+5.2%
Roosevelt/Truman	D	1945-1949	41,903	44,675	+2.8	+1.8%
Harry Truman	D	1949-1953	44,675	50,145	+5.5	+3.0%
Dwight Eisenhower	R	1953-1957	50,145	52,888	+2.7	+1.4%
Dwight Eisenhower	R	1957-1961	52,888	53,683	+0.8	+0.4%
Kennedy/Johnson	D	1961-1965	53,683	59,583	+5.9	+2.6%
Lyndon Johnson	D	1965-1969	59,583	69,438	+9.9	+3.9%
Richard Nixon	R	1969-1973	69,438	75,620	+6.2	+2.2%
Nixon/Ford	R	1973-1977	75,620	80,692	+5.1	+1.7%
Jimmy Carter	D	1977-1981	80,692	91,031	+10.3	+3.1%
Ronald Reagan	R	1981-1985	91,031	96,353	+5.3	+1.5%
Ronald Reagan	R	1985-1989	96,353	107,133	+10.8	+2.2%
George H. W. Bush	R	1989-1993	107,133	109,725	+2.6	+0.6%
Bill Clinton	D	1993-1997	109,725	121,231	+11.5	+2.6%
Bill Clinton	D	1997-2001	121,231	132,469	+11.2	+2.3%
George W. Bush	R	2001-2005	132,469	132,476	0.01	0.002%
George W. Bush	R	2005-May 2008	132,476	137,754 as of May 2008	+5.3 as of May 2008	+1.2% ** as of May 2008