A recent report by WND shows Nancy Pelosi claiming that Trump had the worst-ever jobs record of any U.S. president. The news commentator, bless her heart, mentioned how the job losses were due to a pandemic (and presumably therefore not due to presidential ineptitude). But the claim is easily tested.
First Full Year, Last Full Year method
Looking at the first full year of Trump (2017), and the last full year of Trump (2020), you get these job numbers …
2017 = 116.2 million full-time equivalent employed in private sector:
2020 = 113.1 million full-time equivalent employed in private sector:
That’s a “raw numbers” loss of 3.1 million jobs in a 4-year term. But is it the worst? No. Pres. Hoover presided over a job loss of
1929 = 32.1 million full-time equivalent employed in private sector:
1932 = 23.4 million full-time equivalent employed in private sector:
That’s a loss of 8.7 million full-time jobs in 4 years, dwarfing the loss seen under Trump to 2020. And, because the labor force was so much smaller back then, the percentage loss of full-time workers was worth 27.3% of the entire labor force — i.e., the equivalent of 27 out of every 100 people had been put out of work in those 4 years.
That’s 12 times the (2.3%) share of all jobs lost under Trump up to 2020.
Raw Numbers in any 4 Years method
But if raw numbers had the final say, then the worst 4 years which the USA has ever had were actually years shared by GW Bush & Obama:
— 107.9 million full-time equivalent employed in the private sector in 2007
— just 99.1 million in 2010
— a loss of 8.8 million private sector jobs in 4 years
(equivalent to 8% of all jobs disappearing in 4 years)
First Quarter to Last Quarter as President method
When using the first quarter of a term and the last quarter of a term, you can check to see what share of the adult population has a job. 60% of all US adults had a job in Trump’s first quarter as president:
… and in the quarter when Trump handed over the White House, 57.6% did (a loss of 2.4%):
But if both GW Bush terms are put together, then you get higher total job loss. 64.3% of US adults had a job in the first quarter that GW Bush was president:
But when Bush handed over the White House, only 60.2% of US adults had a job (4.1% less US adults having a job than when he took office):
Evidence suggests that Nancy Pelosi is a “lying liar” who spreads lies about Trump. Hoover had the higher percentage share of job loss by far (it’s not even close), and even his raw numbers of job loss are far beyond those found under Trump to 2020.
As a percentage of US adults who have a job, GW Bush — albeit for two terms instead of one — ended with a much higher percentage loss than Trump (4.1% vs. 2.4%).