As exit looms, Biden touts jobs numbers, but the figures raise questions

The Biden administration is touting jobs numbers right now. However, a close look raises questions about reports past and present.

Various members of the Biden administration have touted the impact of policy on the US economy. Never mind most of us are still struggling with the cost of necessities. At present a number of posts on social media have praised jobs gains under the current regime. However, a close look at reports suggests questions are due.

For instance, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in its monthly report in December said, “Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 256,000 in December… Employment trended up in health care, government, and social assistance. Retail trade added jobs in December, following a job loss in November.”

You’d expect jobs to be added in some sectors during the holiday season, and we already know many jobs are still being added after the draconian lockdowns when the COVID virus chaos was unleashed in our country. What’s troubling to me as a taxpayer comprises that upwards trend in government jobs:

“Government employment continued to trend up in December (+33,000). Government added an average of 37,000 jobs per month in 2024, below the average monthly gain of 59,000 in 2023. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in state government (+10,000).”

That’s a lot of government jobs we taxpayers are on the hook for, from wages to employee benefits like health insurance and retirement plans. Are we Americans seeing more services delivered to us for our money? I’m not.

An official report in October, 2024 from the US Department of Commerce lauded the administration for adding “700,000 new manufacturing jobs” during the Biden-Harris administration.

The BLS report referenced above, however, noted little change in December manufacturing jobs.

As often happens, that same BLS report noted upwards and downwards revisions in previous reports:

“The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for October was revised up by 7,000, from +36,000 to +43,000, and the change for November was revised down by 15,000, from +227,000 to +212,000. With these revisions, employment in October and November combined is 8,000 lower than previously reported.”

If you look at a graph issued by BLS dated January 14, 2025, you can see the decline in manufacturing as COVID hysteria hit, and subsequent increases in jobs as common sense returned. Are the jobs added since 2021 new jobs or just jobs that were deleted then reinstated as the economy struggled to regain footing? [Article continues after graphic.]

Graphic from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January, 2025, reflects the dip in jobs as COVID hysteria spread, and an increase once the hysteria died down. After 2023, there’s little to tout because the numbers appear to be constant, showing a slight dip after January, 2024.

An editorial—an opinion piece to be exact—at Fox News cited a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia:

“A new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia shows that the Biden-Harris administration’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) overestimated employment in 25 states across the country in the second quarter of 2024… (The second quarter of 2024 is the most recent period for which the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank has updated data.)”

The official report is published by the Philadelphia Fed online, and it appears the editorial at the Fox News website is accurate.

The California Legislature issued a report echoing claims of overstating jobs:

“State Jobs Survey Now Routinely Overestimating Monthly Job Gains. Since mid-2022, as shown below, five out of six quarterly early benchmark revisions have shown weaker employment trends than first reported by the monthly survey. For context, the monthly survey has overestimated net job growth by 25,000 jobs per month on average over this period.”

In February, 2024, even Yahoo News, a site I personally view as legacy media often favoring official government narratives, revealed:

“In 2023, the U.S. job market experienced a trend where nearly 25% of all job gains were attributed to government positions, underscoring a significant reliance on public sector employment to sustain economic growth.”

I’ve often tried to explain to people government jobs are the only kind of jobs a politician really “creates”. Legitimate job growth originates in the private sector, and private sector jobs are those the taxpayer doesn’t directly subsidize.

While an increase in jobs is a good thing for our economy, that increase should be looked at objectively. Currently legacy media aren’t doing that in my opinion. Taking a close look at any government narrative, regardless of the political party in power, is a job left to the independent media many Leftists seem so eager to shut down.

It’s worth mentioning something the new administration should consider. As government efficiency initiatives ensue, break out figures on jobs eliminated in government. It’s way past time for American taxpayers to insist government jobs numbers should be plainly noted in any report issued or distributed by media.