Jobs Produced: Barack Obama vs. George W. Bush

It has been fun to compare the performance of our economy under Democratic and under Republican presidents. In Democratic Presidents vs. Republican Presidents: Income and Jobs we pointed out that both job growth and income growth are greater when there is a Democrat in the White House. Bill Clinton shook the convention when he quoted the job figures. The income figures were even more telling of the differences between the two parties, but a chart is needed to make that point.

The Democrats have been very vocal in touting the over 4 million jobs created over the last 30 months since emerging from the Great Recession. An article in The Economist looks at the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics over the span of the Obama presidency and provides an excellent summary of what has transpired.

People confuse the election in early November of 2008 with the start of Obama’s presidency in January of 2009. A lot transpired in the period November through January that Obama should not be held responsible for. The chart clearly makes that point. Private sector jobs have actually increased a bit since Obama took office. The chart also corroborates the number of private sector jobs claimed by the Democrats since the end of the recession.

The Republicans love to claim that it is the Obama policies that are holding the economy back. Just put them back in power and all will be well again. Oh? That invites an obvious comparison.

George W. Bush faced a relatively minor recession after taking office and he helped usher in the Great Recession as he was leaving, but he essentially had eight years to do the things Republican presidents do. How did that work out?

Interesting! The business-friendly, tax-cutting, deficit-spending Republican managed to create not a single net new private sector job in eight years. Not a one! The only reason any new jobs came into existence was because government grew under the small-government Republicans.

One more Republican president and we will be completely undone.