Why Clinton's claim that Democratic presidents created more jobs than Republicans is slightly misleading

Former President Bill Clinton made an astounding claim at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night about the relative success of Democratic presidents when compared to their Republican counterparts in the area of job creation. The statistic is misleading, however.

“Since the end of the Cold War in 1989, America has created about 51 million new jobs. I swear I checked this three times. Even I couldn’t believe it. What’s the score? Democrats 50, Republicans 1,” Clinton told the audience at the United Center in Chicago.

Technically, the statistic is accurate, as long as one sets the date for the end of the Cold War at around January 1989. But the statistic omits relevant information.

To start, the Berlin Wall did not fall until November 1989. Beginning the tally in November 1989 would have shaved off some additional jobs created under President George H.W. Bush, leaving the Republicans at a net-negative job tally over the years since. That statistic would have appeared even more lopsided.

By setting his calculation to begin at the end of the Cold War, meanwhile, Clinton leaves out 16.8 million jobs created under President Ronald Reagan from 1980 to 1988.

Since January 1989, the U.S. has added 51.5 million jobs, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows. During Democratic administrations, the nation has added nearly 50 million of those jobs. By contrast, Republican presidents have overseen the creation of some 1.5 million jobs over that period, according to BLS data.

In general, presidents exert limited control over the jobs created while they’re in office. Each of the last three Republican presidents – George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump -- ended his term in office during a period of economic difficulty.

For instance, debate persists over the extent to which George W. Bush deserves blame for the Great Recession, when some of the contributing factors took hold before he entered office. The Great Recession also weighed on the economy during the Obama presidency, but the downturn began before he took office.

In all, George H.W. Bush oversaw the creation of 2.6 million jobs, while George W. Bush helped the economy add another 2.1 million jobs. A portion of those gains is wiped out, however, by 2.8 million job losses under Trump as a result of COVID-19.

Economists disagree in their assessment of Trump’s handling of the economy after the outbreak of the pandemic.

Still, Clinton accurately notes that Democratic presidents have overseen the economy during periods of booming job growth. The economy added 23.2 million jobs during the Clinton administration, and another 10.5 million jobs during the presidency of Barack Obama.

Over the first three and half years of the Biden administration, the economy has added 16.2 million jobs.