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Steady Job Growth and Low Unemployment Continue Under President Biden’s Leadership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 7, 2022
PRESS CONTACT: [email protected]

STEADY JOB GROWTH AND LOW UNEMPLOYMENT CONTINUE UNDER PRESIDENT BIDEN’S LEADERSHIP

CNBC: “Unemployment rate falls to 3.5% in September, payrolls rise by 263,000 as job market stays strong”

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  As the U.S. transitions from a historic recovery to a period of strong, stable growth, President Biden’s work to build an economy from the bottom up and middle out is fueling once-in-a-generation manufacturing investments here at home, lowering costs for working families, and continuing steady job creation and low unemployment nationwide – including historically low Latino unemployment. While MAGA extremists in Congress have pledged to raise health care costs, threaten Social Security and Medicare, and take away fundamental rights and freedoms, President Biden is fighting against these extreme policies and standing up for the priorities of working families.

“This month, we’re seeing further evidence that President Biden’s economic plan is delivering for working families,” said Building Back Together Executive Director Danielle Melfi. “Thanks to President Biden, companies all over the world are investing in American manufacturing, creating jobs and opening up new opportunities for the long term. The president continues to fight to make our economy stronger and more resilient, including by signing historic legislation to lower the cost of health care and prescription drugs, tackle the climate crisis, and ensure big businesses pay their fair share – while not raising taxes a single cent on anyone making less than $400,000 a year.”

Under President Biden’s leadership, the U.S. is transitioning to strong, steady growth that delivers for working families.

  • Over 10 million jobs have been created since President Biden took office, including nearly 700,000 manufacturing jobs.
  • Today’s jobs report shows 263,000 jobs added in September, continuing a pattern of steady job creation under President Biden.
  • Unemployment has dropped to 3.5% – a 50-year low, Latino unemployment is at a record low, and ​​Black teen unemployment is at its second-lowest level ever.
  • Weekly unemployment claims hit a five-month low this month as Americans continue to get back to work.
  • Not only are workers employed in record numbers in the U.S., but more have full-time jobs now than did in February 2020, before the pandemic began.

Today is National Manufacturing Day – and thanks to the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and other key elements of the president’s agenda, U.S. manufacturing is roaring back.

  • During President Biden’s first year in office, the American economy created more manufacturing jobs on average per month than any other president in the last 50 years. 
  • In recent weeks, we’ve seen historic investments by American companies to create manufacturing jobs here at home:
    • This week, President Biden visited the Hudson Valley in New York to celebrate a $20 billion investment from IBM over the next ten years to build semiconductors and quantum computers – creating an estimated 10,000 jobs.
    • Also this week, Micron announced a $100 billion investment to build a massive semiconductor facility in New York, a project expected to create 50,000 jobs.
    • This comes weeks after Micron also announced a $15 billion investment to build a new memory-chip manufacturing facility in Idaho.
    • First Solar, the largest American solar panel manufacturer, recently announcedplans to increase their domestic production by around 75%.
    • AT&T announced the first fiber-optic manufacturing facility in the U.S.
    • Honda and LG announced a $4.4 billion solar manufacturing plant in Ohio.

The Inflation Reduction Act President Biden signed last month will build on this growth and spur further manufacturing investments.

  • Experts estimate that the Inflation Reduction Act will create upwards of 9 million good jobs over the next decade, an average of nearly 1 million jobs every single year.
  • These investments will create jobs across various sectors in the next decade, including an estimated:
    • 5 million jobs from clean energy investments to meet our climate goals and lower energy costs.
    • 900,000 jobs from clean manufacturing projects that will help to bring supply chains back to the U.S.
    • 900,000 jobs from clean building projects to make homes stronger, healthier, and more energy efficient.
    • 600,000 jobs from natural infrastructure projects that will strengthen our resilience to climate disasters.
    • 400,000 jobs from clean transportation projects that will lower transit costs for families.
    • 150,000 jobs from environmental justice initiatives to address the disproportionate impact of climate change, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color.

MAGA extremists in Congress, on the other hand, are more concerned with pushing their extremist agenda and protecting tax breaks for big corporations than advocating for working families.

  • From advocating for extreme abortion restrictions that would criminalize patients and doctors to calling for cuts to Social Security and Medicare, MAGA extremists in Congress continue to demonstrate how out of touch they are with the American people.
  • They are pushing policies far outside of the mainstream at the expense of working to lower costs.
  • Working families need economic solutions – not extreme policies that do nothing to address the priorities of most Americans.

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