FACT CHECK: Have 4.5 Million New Jobs Been Created Under Obama?
Lachlan MarkaySeptember 6, 2012 at 2:31 pm
It’s no secret that employment is the top concern for Americans. It stands to reason, then, that politicians will be hyping their proposals for job creation, and touting their respective records on that front.
This week in Charlotte, NC, a number of speakers — including the keynote, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro — touted job growth under President Obama by citing what seems like an impressive figure: “Despite incredible odds and united Republican opposition, our president took action, and now we’ve seen 4.5 million new jobs,” Castro said.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s former White House chief of staff, cited the same number. “Our economy has gone from losing 800,000 jobs a month, to adding 4.5 million private-sector jobs in the last 29 months,” Emanuel claimed.
Both statements are misleading, though Emanuel’s is more factually grounded than Castro’s. The Chicago mayor is correct, but his decision to focus only on the last 29 months is a deliberate attempt to inflate the president’s record on job creation. Castro’s statement, which did not include a time frame, is even more misleading.
Under President Obama, the U.S. economy has created a net 415,000 private-sector jobs – less than 0.2% of the 155 million-member American workforce. Castro and Emanuel chose the window that they did — beginning in January 2010 — in order to maximize the apparent job growth under Obama.
https://blog.heritage.org/2012/09/06/fact-check-have-4-5-million-new-jobs-been-created-under-obama/