How Harris’ jobs remarks miss the bigger picture

How Harris' jobs remarks miss the bigger picture
credit: nytimes

“We have the lowest Black unemployment rate in generations,” Vice President Kamala Harris declared to a group of Black journalists, bragging about the creation of jobs. Although the rate did reach its lowest point in the previous year, as of last month, it was the same as the rate before the epidemic under the Trump presidency. On September 17, Harris met with members of the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia. If elected in November, Harris will become the first Asian American and Black woman president. Though she did reiterate several talking points about occupations that need more explanation, there wasn’t much material for fact-checkers. “We have created over 16 million new jobs as of today, over 800,000 of which are in manufacturing,” Harris stated. The unemployment rate for Black people is at its lowest point in decades.

Harris’ remarks on jobs ignoring key details

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has been monitoring the unemployment rate among Black people since 1972. In April 2023, it fell to 4.8%, the lowest level ever recorded. However, according to the most current data, as of August, the Black unemployment rate was 6.1%, which is precisely the same as it was in February 2020, the last month of the Trump administration. The COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impact increased unemployment rates for all Americans. In April 2020, the Black unemployment rate peaked at 16.9%, the highest point during the epidemic. The rate decreased when Trump took office, but it was still high at 9.3%. Black unemployment dropped to 5.3% under Trump in August and September of 2019 before the epidemic. Up until last year, that was a record. The average monthly unemployment rates under the Trump (7.9%) and Biden (6.5%) administrations were lower than the historical average of 11.4%, which dates back to January 1972, despite the pandemic’s immediate and long-lasting consequences.

Missing context in Harris’ jobs commentary

Although Harris’ assertion that there are 800,000 manufacturing jobs and 16 million overall jobs is about correct at present, it is probably going to alter shortly. As of right now, the US economy has added 15.9 million jobs in total, with 739,000 of those employment coming from manufacturing. However, as we have reported, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last month released a preliminary estimate of their yearly adjustment of jobs statistics, which indicated that, on average, 818,000 fewer jobs were generated over the 12 months ending in March, with 115,000 fewer positions in the manufacturing sector. The January employment report and the final adjustment will be made public in February. The current total during the Biden administration would be about 15 million jobs (not over 16 million), and manufacturing employment would be closer to 600,000 (not over 800,000) if there were 818,000 fewer jobs generated than previously reported. The deceptive assertion that the Biden administration “came in during the worst unemployment since the Great Depression” was also reiterated by Harris. We stated that in January 2021, when Trump departed office, the unemployment rate was 6.4%, in response to her same assertion at the debate on September 10. That was less than it had been under some governments since the 1930s.

Harris’ comments on jobs lack full perspective

Vice President Kamala Harris made nearly a dozen assertions that were either inaccurate or uncontextualized in her roughly 40-minute acceptance address at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. They include everything from her proposals to lower housing and grocery prices to her assessments of former President Trump’s positions on Social Security and abortion rights. The press has a responsibility to make an honest effort to hold politicians accountable for the veracity of their remarks. The sixteen assertions by Harris that are not in context pale in comparison to the sixteen two hundred and two misstatements, exaggerations, and flat-out falsehoods that NPR discovered at President Trump’s August 8 news conference.

FactDetail
Important PointsAccording to Vice President Kamala Harris, the measures of the present government are significantly boosting economic development and job creation.
Absence of contextSeveral important features of the labor market, such as employment quality, regional economic inequities, inflationary pressures, and long-term job sustainability, are not addressed by Harris’ comments.
More General Economic FactorsThe impact of economic factors such as automation, wage stagnation, inflation, and labor force participation on the quality and durability of newly generated employment was not adequately addressed by Harris.
Regional InequalitiesThe comments mostly disregarded regional variations in job creation, as certain areas are experiencing strong expansion while others are still experiencing high unemployment and a dearth of chances in important industries.
Concerns about Job QualityA large number of the new employment might be gig economy, part-time, low-paying occupations without benefits like healthcare and pensions, or low-paying industries. These differences were not discussed by Harris in her speech.

The oversight in Harris’ jobs remarks

The media must attempt to hold public officials responsible for the accuracy of their statements. Compared to the sixteen two hundred two misstatements, exaggerations, and outright lies that NPR uncovered at President Trump’s August 8 news conference, Harris’ sixteen utterances that are out of context are insignificant.

Author

Sign up for our Newsletter

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit