20 MILLION NEW JOBS
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20 MILLION NEW JOBS UNDER THE CLINTON-GORE ADMINISTRATION. In 1992, when Bill Clinton was elected President, the American economy was barely creating jobs, wages were stagnant, and the unemployment rate was 7.5 percent. His bold, three-part economic strategy focused on three objectives: fiscal discipline to help reduce interest rates and thereby spur business investment; invest in education, health care, science and technology so that America can meet the challenges of the 21st century; and open foreign markets so that American workers have a fair chance to compete abroad.
Seven years later, the results are in.
JOBS ARE UP
WAGES ARE UP
Eighty-one Percent of the New Jobs Since 1992 Have Been High-Wage Jobs. According to a study by the Council of Economic Advisers and the U.S. Department of Labor, 81 percent of all new jobs are located in industry/occupation categories that pay above-median wages.
Fastest and Longest Real Wage Growth in Two Decades. In the last 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased 3.6 percent - faster than the rate of inflation. This marks the fourth consecutive year of real wage growth - the longest consecutive increase since the early 1970s. Under President Clinton, real wages are up 6.5 percent, after declining 4.3 percent during the Reagan and Bush years. Real wage growth in 1998 reached 2.6 percent - the largest increase since 1972.
Real Wage Gains Across the Income Spectrum. While real wages fell for the typical worker between 1981 and 1993, the declines for poorer workers were even more severe. Under President Clinton and Vice President Gore, all groups have shared in rising real wages - with some of the largest gains enjoyed by hard-pressed working Americans. According to a study by the Council of Economic Advisers and the U.S. Department of Labor, between 1994 and 1998, workers at the bottom of income distribution (at the 10th percentile) saw a 1.2 percent average annual growth in wages –about the same as the 1.3 percent average annual growth of workers at the top of the income distribution (at the 90th percentile).
UNEMPLOYMENT IS DOWN
The Largest Decline in Unemployment of Any Administration in Over 50 Years. Under President Clinton, the unemployment rate has declined from 7.3 percent in January 1993 to 4.1 percent in November 1999. This 3.2 percentage point decline is the largest under any single Administration since Franklin D. Roosevelt was President.
Unemployment at 4.1 Percent in November - the Lowest in Nearly 30 Years. In November, the unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent. It has remained below 5 percent for 29 months in a row - that is the lowest unemployment rate since January 1970. For women the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent - staying around the lowest level since 1953.
African American and Hispanic Unemployment Rates Reached Record Lows in 1999. The unemployment rate for African Americans has fallen from 14.2 percent in 1992 to 8.1 percent in November 1999. In the last year, African-American unemployment has fallen to the lowest rate on record. The unemployment rate for Hispanics has fallen from 11.6 percent in 1992 to 6.0 percent in November 1999. In the last year, Hispanic unemployment has fallen to the lowest rate on record.
INFLATION IS DOWN
Inflation - Lowest Since the 1960s. Inflation remains virtually non-existent, with the underlying core rate of inflation at 1.9 percent this year - the lowest rate since 1965. In the last four quarters the GDP price index has risen 1.3 percent - the lowest rate of increase since 1963.
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*Total is for November; latest available state data is for October.
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AFTER NEARLY SEVEN YEARS, THE RESULTS OF PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE'S ECONOMIC LEADERSHIP FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE CLEAR. In 1992, when Bill Clinton was elected President, the American economy was barely creating jobs, wages were stagnant, and the unemployment rate was 7.5 percent. His bold, three-part economic strategy focused on three objectives: fiscal discipline to help reduce interest rates and thereby spur business investment; invest in education, health care, science and technology so that America can meet the challenges of the 21st century; and open foreign markets so that American workers have a fair chance to compete abroad. Today, many more Americans are sharing in the new economic prosperity and joining the circle of opportunity.
Jobs Are Up: More Than 20 Million Created Since January 1993
Unemployment Is Down: The Lowest Peacetime Rate in 29 Years
Deficit Eliminated: Two Consecutive Budget Surpluses
Faster Economic Growth: 3.8 Percent Per Year
Private-Sector Growth Is Up: 4.3 Percent Per Year
Equipment and Software Investment Is Growing Faster Than Ever
Unemployment for African Americans Declined Dramatically
Unemployment for Hispanics Recovered From Record Highs to Achieve Record Lows
Real Wages Rising Again: Fastest Growth in Two Decades
Real Wages for African Americans Rising Sharply After A Decade of Decline
Real Wages for Hispanics Rising After A Decade of Sharp Decline
Poverty For African-Americans Dropped to Lowest On Record
Poverty For Hispanics Dropped to Lowest Since 1979
Family Income Up More Than $5,000 Since 1993
Welfare Rolls Dropped Dramatically: Lowest Since 1969
Homeownership Is Up: The Highest in American History
Fortune, 10/3/94: "[President Clinton's] economic plan helped bring interest rates down, spurring the recovery."
Paul Volcker, Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman, Audacity, Fall 1994: "The deficit has come down and I give the Clinton Administration and President Clinton a lot of credit for that....and I think we are seeing some benefits."
Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve Board Chairman, 2/20/96: "The deficit reduction [from 1993]...was an unquestioned factor in contributing to the improvement in economic activity that occurred thereafter."
David Wyss, DRI/McGraw-Hill, 6/10/96: "If you look at the economy during the Clinton Administration, you have to say that it's been a success. We have low inflation, full employment, and steady growth. This is really just about the best of all macroeconomic worlds."
U.S. News and World Report, 6/17/96: "President Clinton's budget deficit program begun in 1993…[led] to low interest rates, which begat greater investment growth (by double digits since 1993, the highest rate since the Kennedy administration), which begat three-plus years of solid economic growth averaging 2.6 percent annually, 50 percent higher than during the Bush presidency."
Business Week, 5/19/97: "Clinton's 1993 budget cuts, which reduced projected red ink by more than $400 billion over five years, sparked a major drop in interest rates that helped boost investment in all the equipment and systems that brought forth the New Age economy of technological innovation and rising productivity."
Goldman Sachs, March 1998: Calling this "the best economy ever", Goldman Sachs reports that "trade, fiscal, and monetary policies have been excellent, working in ways that have facilitated growth without inflation. The Clinton Administration has worked to liberalize trade and has used any revenue windfalls to reduce the federal budget deficit."
Financial Times (London), 5/13/99: "[The] 1993 deficit reduction plan…put the US on course for its first budget surpluses in almost thirty years. This in turn allowed the lower interest rates that have fuelled the expansion."
New Yorker, 6/10/96: "With interest rates so low, the economy grew at a rate that made a mockery of the Republicans' dire predictions." |
Representative Newt Gingrich: "The tax increase will kill jobs and lead to a recession, and the recession will force people off of work and onto unemployment and will actually increase the deficit." [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 8/6/93.]
Senator Phil Gramm, 8/5/93: "We are buying a one-way ticket to a recession."
Representative John Kasich: "...We're going to find out whether we have higher deficits, we're going to find out whether we have a slower economy, we're going to find out what's going to happen to interest rates, and it's our bet that this is a job killer..." [Republican Press Conference, 8/3/93.]
"It's like a snake bite. The venom is going to be injected into the body of this economy, in our judgement and it's going to spread throughout the body and it's going to begin to kill the jobs that Americans have." [Congressional Record, 3/18/93.]
Representative Dick Armey: "The impact on job creation is going to be devastating." [CNN, 8/2/93.]
"...will grow the Government and shrink the economy. It will mean fewer jobs for ordinary Americans." [Congressional Record, 8/5/93.]
Senator Connie Mack: "This bill will cost America jobs, no doubt about it." [Congressional Record, 8/6/93.]
Representative John Boehner, 3/31/93: "...we want to do something about reducing the budget deficits in this country and this budget resolution does nothing, absolutely nothing to reduce the huge budget deficits that we have had."