From Coolidge to Trump: Job Creation Under Every President

Over the summer, a popular graphic circulated on Facebook stating that “Trump shatter(ed) world history two months in a row,” with 2.5 million jobs created in May and 4.8 million jobs created in June. The graphic stated that no American president in history averaged higher than 224,000 jobs in one month.

Despite those claims, a fact check by USA Today stated that despite jobs regained, the country was still down nearly 15 million jobs in July compared to February. In addition, the high average monthly growth is not indicative of growth over the full term, which may be a better metric. Presidents who can claim record job growth include Bill Clinton, who added the greatest number of jobs with 18.6 million added between 1993 and 2001, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, who has the largest percentage increase of jobs at 21.5% between 1933 and 1945.

To put those numbers in perspective, take a look at the job growth under every president, listed in chronological order from Calvin Coolidge to Donald Trump. Find out more about the job growth that has happened.

Last updated: Nov. 2, 2020

Calvin Coolidge

• Term length: Aug. 3, 1923-March 3, 1929
• Jobs at start of term: 32,129,000
• Jobs at end of term: 37,180,000
• Jobs created: 5,051,000
• Percentage change in jobs created: 15.72%

Herbert C. Hoover

• Term length: March 4, 1929-March 3, 1933
  
• Jobs at start of term: 37,180,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 28,670,000
  
• Jobs created: -8,510,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: -22.89%

Franklin D. Roosevelt

• Term length: March 4, 1933-April 12, 1945
  
• Jobs at start of term: 28,670,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 41,446,000
  
• Jobs created: 12,776,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 44.56%
  

Harry S. Truman

• Term length: April 12, 1945-Jan. 20, 1953
  
• Jobs at start of term: 41,446,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 50,144,000
  
• Jobs created: 8,698,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 20.99%
  

Dwight D. Eisenhower

• Term length: Jan. 20, 1953-Jan. 20, 1961
  
• Jobs at start of term: 50,144,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 53,683,000
  
• Jobs created: 3,539,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 7.06%
  

Compare: The Richest and Poorest US Presidents

John F. Kennedy

• Term length: Jan. 20, 1961-Nov. 22, 1963
  
• Jobs at start of term: 53,683,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 57,255,000
  
• Jobs created: 3,572,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 6.65%
  

Lyndon B. Johnson

• Term length: Nov. 22, 1963-Jan. 20, 1969
  
• Jobs at start of term: 57,255,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 69,439,000
  
• Jobs created: 12,184,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 21.28%

Richard M. Nixon

• Term length: Jan. 20, 1969-Aug. 9, 1974
  
• Jobs at start of term: 69,439,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 78,619,000
  
• Jobs created: 9,180,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 13.22%

Gerald R. Ford

• Term length: Aug. 9, 1974-Jan. 20, 1977
  
• Jobs at start of term: 78,619,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 80,690,000
  
• Jobs created: 2,071,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 2.63%

Jimmy Carter

• Term length: Jan. 20, 1977-Jan. 20, 1981
  
• Jobs at start of term: 80,690,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 91,033,000
  
• Jobs created: 10,343,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 12.82%

Ronald Reagan

• Term length: Jan. 20, 1981-Jan. 20, 1989
  
• Jobs at start of term: 91,033,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 107,161,000
  
• Jobs created: 16,128,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 17.72%

George H.W. Bush

• Term length: Jan. 20, 1989-Jan. 20, 1993
  
• Jobs at start of term: 107,161,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 109,794,000
  
• Jobs created: 2,633,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 2.46%

See: Crazy Financial Perks of Being President

Bill Clinton

• Term length: Jan. 20, 1993-Jan. 20, 2001
  
• Jobs at start of term: 109,794,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 132,698,000
  
• Jobs created: 22,904,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 20.86%

George W. Bush

• Term length: Jan. 20, 2001-Jan. 20, 2009
  
• Jobs at start of term: 132,698,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 134,055,000
  
• Jobs created: 1,357,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 1.02%

Barack Obama

• Term length: Jan. 20, 2009-Jan. 20, 2017
  
• Jobs at start of term: 134,055,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 145,627,000
  
• Jobs created: 11,572,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: 8.63%

Donald Trump

• Term length: Jan. 20, 2017-present
  
• Jobs at start of term: 145,627,000
  
• Jobs at end of term: 141,720,000
  
• Jobs created: -3,907,000
  
• Percentage change in jobs created: -2.68%

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Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates sourced the presidency lengths of each president since Calvin Coolidge from the House of Representatives’ dataset, “Presidents, Vice Presidents, & Coinciding Sessions of Congress.” Once these data points were found, GOBankingRates used Bureau of Labor Statistics and Social Security Administration employment data to find: (1) jobs/employed people at the start of each presidency; (2) jobs/employed people at the end of each presidency; (3) total change in number of jobs/employed people during each presidency; and (4) percent change in total jobs/employed people during each presidency. All jobs data represents the nonfarm workforce and is seasonally adjusted, with the exception of historical data used for 1923-33. All data was collected on and up to date as of Oct. 27, 2020.

About the Author

Gabrielle Olya

Gabrielle joined GOBankingRates in 2017 and brings with her a decade of experience in the journalism industry. Before joining the team, she was a staff writer-reporter for People Magazine and People.com. Her work has also appeared on E! Online, Us Weekly, Patch, Sweety High and Discover Los Angeles, and she has been featured on “Good Morning America” as a celebrity news expert. 

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