Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the U.S. added 209,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate decreased to 3.6%.

• Today we saw another strong jobs report with the unemployment rate remaining near historic lows. 
• The economy has added more than 13.2 million jobs since Biden took office. In just 29 months, President Biden has presided over more job gains than any other president has in a whole four-year term. 
• This is no accident. Since taking office, President Biden passed landmark legislation that has created a strong foundation for the economy to grow by growing the middle class.

And beyond the topline number, there are more good indicators from this month’s report:   

• We are seeing job gains spread throughout the economy—including construction, manufacturing and leisure and hospitality.  
• In welcome news, the share of adults 25 to 54 working is at its highest level since April 2001, more than 20 years ago. And, for women aged 25 to 54, their participation hit another record high.  

Let’s not forget what each datapoint represents: a parent who can be sure they can keep a roof over their children’s heads next month, or a recent grad who can start building a financial future. These are not small things for the American people and help build economic security and stability. And it’s not just the labor market that remains strong, the U.S. economy remains strong and resilient, particularly when compared to other advanced economies. 

• Recent GDP data showed that the economy is growing even faster than was previously estimated. In fact, the U.S. economic recovery has been the fastest among the world’s leading economies. 
• We are continuing to see progress on inflation, providing families with much needed relief. In May, we saw the lowest annual inflation since March 2021, and the price of many food items such as rice and eggs declined. And, inflation in the U.S. is lower than it is in the rest of the world’s leading economies.
• Consumer confidence is also improving. The UMich Consumer Sentiment report for June reported consumer sentiment coming in above expectations, reaching its highest level in four months. And, consumers’ expectations for inflation in the next year declined to their lowest level since March 2021. 

Let’s not forget President Biden in just the last few months had to twice save the U.S. economy from the brink of economic ruin: 

• He saved us from the economic terrorism of Kevin McCarthy’s MAGAnomics. McCarthy was willing to sacrifice not only education, and public safety–but the wellbeing of the U.S. economy to advance his own power.
• And in March he saved the U.S. and global economy from a banking crisis by making whole depositors at SVB and Signature Bank. We all remember the years-long impact the 2008 crisis had – people lost homes, jobs, and financial security. We will never know how much the SVB crisis would have harmed middle class Americans. President Biden took quick action to guard against history repeating itself.

The Biden Administration is Growing the Economy by Growing the Middle Class:

The administration is cutting the cost of living, making things more affordable and cracking down on corporate greed. The Biden administration has: 

• Lowered the cost of medications like insulin for seniors on Medicare to $35 a month, 
• Cut health care premiums by an average of $800
• Reduced monthly internet bills between $30 – $75 a month for more than 19 million households. 
• President Biden is bringing jobs and supply chains back to America, paying higher wages and supporting American manufacturing – instead of giving large corporations tax breaks to ship jobs overseas 
• Investing in the American people by breaking ground on new projects that are rebuilding the country with universal high-speed internet and better roads, bridges, airports and highways that have suffered decades of neglect.

Cracking down on corporate greed by:

• Making companies that make billions in profit pay their fair share
• Cracking down on junk fees for things like travel, tickets to concerts or sporting events, and credit card late fees, which can help Americans save over a hundred dollars a month 
• Enforcing stronger buy American requirements, to make sure our tax dollars go to companies that make things in the U.S., and create more jobs here at home.

The jobs recovery under the Biden administration has been much faster and more equitable than previous recoveries, thanks in large part to President Biden’s swift and aggressive actions on the economy. Yet we know that inequities remain: 

• This month, the Black unemployment rate ticked up. Black workers regularly have about twice the unemployment rate of white workers. In June, the Black unemployment rate was 6% percent compared with 3.1% percent for white workers. 
• Disabled workers continue to be unemployed at more than twice the rate as workers without a disability, at 6.8% percent compared with 3.6% percent in June. 
• Unemployment rates for people without a college degree are much higher than those for people with a college degree. For instance, in June, the unemployment rate for those with a high school diploma was 6% percent compared with 2% percent for those with a college degree.
• These disparities mean that large segments of the population face big financial challenges, even in a strong overall labor market. 

IF ASKED:

Is the U.S. economy headed toward a recession?

• Despite what some have been forecasting for more than a year, the U.S. economy remains incredibly strong and resilient. It’s why the Federal Reserve reversed its earlier forecast and no longer predicts there will be a recession.  
• The U.S. economy continues to grow and jobs are plentiful. Today’s jobs report confirms that our economic fundamentals are strong.
• This is no accident. Since taking office, President Biden passed landmark legislation that has created a strong foundation for the economy to grow by investing in the middle class.
• The biggest recession threat this year has been Kevin McCarthy and his MAGA caucus playing a game of chicken with the U.S. economy during the default crisis fight. McCarthy was willing to sacrifice not only education, and public safety–but the wellbeing of the U.S. economy to advance his own power.

Should the Fed continue to raise interest rates? 

• Now, as for the Fed, it has already raised rates significantly over the past year to bring down inflation, and its impacts are already being felt in the broader economy. 
• Moving forward, it’s important that the Federal Reserve moves cautiously and does not risk the economy’s health. If the Fed raises interest rates too quickly, it risks reversing this historic progress in the labor market and economy and putting millions of people out of work.

We need to be clear about the causes of inflation: the war in Ukraine and the ongoing economic impacts of the pandemic. Raising interest rates won’t have a direct impact on either of those factors. 

• And we should be clear – there is no evidence of wages driving up prices across the economy.

Reduced labor supply and manufacturing supply chain disruptions remain important sources of the inflation we are experiencing. 

• Labor supply will increase if more people have the on-ramps they need to get and maintain a job that supports them and their family – for example, if child care and home health care are accessible and affordable.  
• Domestic manufacturing supply will expand overtime with effective policy such as the IRA and CHIPS Act. 

Instead, what excessive rate increases could do is precipitate a recession and put millions of Americans out of work. A recession caused by the Fed would especially hurt low-wage workers, Black and Hispanic workers, disabled workers, older workers, and LGBTQ workers.

• Economic conditions are changing rapidly. There are downside risks from overly aggressive action by the Federal Reserve, and it’s important that they not overstep. And, we have not yet seen the full effect of past interest rate increases since it takes some time for higher interest rates to affect spending and investing. 
• While the Federal Reserve considers their strategy for the months ahead, they should be careful not to push too hard and too fast towards achieving the goal of lowering inflation that it ends up hurting the same vulnerable people they set out to help.
• And, we need to rely less on the singular tool of monetary policy and more on forward-looking actions to strengthen supply chains, boost labor force participation, and support productivity growth.