The Jobless Recovery? You Be the Judge

Since President George W. Bush took office in January 2001,
the U.S. economy has lost a net 2.4 million private sector jobs, the largest loss since Herbert Hoover was President during the Great Depression. As a result, the country is currently experiencing the worst job growth under any administration, Republican or Democrat, in the last 58 years.

President Bush promised voters that his Administration’s tax cut package would create 5.5 million jobs by the end of 2004 – 2,448,000 in the first seven months – or 306,000 new jobs each month starting in June 2003. So far, this hasn’t happened. Between July 2003 and February 2004, the first seven months under the tax cut, only 294,000 jobs were created. As of February, job growth was running more than 2 million jobs short of the number promised.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, any month that adds at least 344,000 jobs to the economy can be marked a success. Every month payroll grows by less than 257,000 jobs, the policy is generating fewer jobs than would have been created without Bush's “Jobs and Growth” plan.

To monitor National Jobs and Wages, go to www.jobwatch.org.