The U.S. economy grew at an average annual rate of 1.9% during Donald Trump’s four-year presidency. Under Joe Biden, through the second quarter of 2024, the average growth rate has been 2.9%—a full percentage point higher than Trump’s.
GDP grew 7.6% over Trump’s four years in office, and has grown 11.8% so far during Biden’s tenure, per the WSJ
10/24/2024
For context, the average GDP growth rate for the past eight presidents, from Jimmy Carter through Biden, was 2.7%. Trump’s growth rate tied with George W. Bush for the slowest among them, while Biden ranks fourth.
Labor Market Comparison: Trump vs. Biden
There are several ways to measure the labor market, including the number of employees, people working, and the unemployment rate. Here’s how Trump and Biden compare:
- Job Creation: Trump left office with 2.7 million fewer people on business payrolls than when he began. In contrast, from the start of Biden’s term through September 2024, 16.2 million new jobs were created.Trump is the only president in the last 50 years to see a net decrease in total payrolls during his tenure. On the other hand, Biden, along with Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, oversaw the creation of over 10 million new jobs. Biden’s average monthly job growth was the largest of all.
- Employment: By the time Trump left office, 2.3 million fewer people were working than when he took over. Under Biden, 12 million more people were employed by September 2024 than when he took office.No other president in the past 50 years saw a decline in employment during their term.
- Unemployment Rate: The unemployment rate rose during Trump’s presidency, from 4.7% at the end of Obama’s administration to 6.4% by January 2021. Only the two Bush presidencies also saw higher unemployment rates at the end of their terms.During Trump’s term, unemployment peaked at 14.8% in April 2020 due to COVID-19 shutdowns but declined significantly afterward. Under Biden, the unemployment rate in September 2024 was 2.3 percentage points lower than when he took office. While it reached a low of 3.4% in early 2023, it has risen slightly over the past 18 months, though it remains historically low.
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