Job Growth Still Slow

The new employment statistics are out now and they don't look particularly good. Total nonfarm employment grew by only 108,000 in December, significantly less than the number required to keep up with population growth. One caveat here, the November estimate was revised upward by 90,000, so it appears November employment growth was a quite robust 305,000 jobs.

Weekly earnings (in constant 1982 dollars) were up by a hair for the month, but fell during the year by about a half a percent.

The really telling statistics come from looking over a longer horizon. During Clinton's presidency, employment grew by an average monthly amount of 236,760. During the Bush presidency the average monthly growth in jobs has been 34,135.

During the Clinton years, average weekly earnings (in constant dollars) grew at an average annual rate of 0.76 percent. During the Bush years, average weekly earnings have remained essentially unchanged.

Overall, the Bush economic record is pretty thin as far as jobs go.