President Donald Trump has been extolling his economic accomplishments on social media and at events like a rally at a Las Vegas resort Wednesday. He touts recent record stock market highs and claims a boom in hiring, manufacturing and investment. Some of the claims are clearly true, some exaggerated, some unclear.Ahead of Nov. 3 midterm that will determine whether Trump’s Republican Party will retain full control of Congress, voters are frustrated with the economy and the high cost of living.Only 32% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy in an AP-NORC poll conducted in late July. The same poll found that 69% of Americans characterized the economy as “poor.’' Many said the cost of everyday essentials like groceries and gas was a “major” source of stress in their lives.Here’s a look at the facts.
The number of jobs in the U.S. keeps hitting records but that’s not the full story TRUMP: “More Americans are working in the United States right now than at any point in the history of our country.” THE FACTS: True, but this needs context. The economy adds jobs most months, so U.S. payrolls are constantly hitting new highs. Jobs have increased in the United States 65 of the last 80 years. In June, the United States had nearly 159 million jobs (not including farm workers). And that was, in fact, a record. If Friday’s July jobs report shows another uptick, as expected, U.S. payrolls will hit another high.In Trump’s second term, however, job growth has slowed considerably. Last year, companies, government agencies and nonprofits added just 9,700 jobs a month – the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002. So far this year, they’ve been creating 92,000 jobs a month, considerably better but unimpressive by historical standards.
