Biden Calls Worst Jobs Report of His Presidency “An Historic Day,” Claims People Quitting Jobs Are “Taking a Step Up”

On 1/7/2022, President Biden declared the December jobs report “an historic day for our economic recovery” — even though the economy added only 199,000 jobs, missing expectations by roughly half and marking the slowest job growth of the year. Biden reframed the “Great Resignation” as workers “taking a step up,” claimed his economic agenda represented a “fundamentally new approach,” and insisted no one making under $400,000 would pay more in federal taxes. Media outlets including CNBC and CNN expressed shock at the weak numbers.

”An Historic Day” — Despite Missing by Half

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 199,000 jobs added in December 2021, dramatically underperforming expectations that had called for roughly 400,000. Biden chose to focus on the unemployment rate, which fell to 3.9%. “Today’s national unemployment rate fell below 4 percent to 3.9 percent. The sharpest one-year drop in unemployment in United States history,” Biden said. “I think it’s an historic day for our economic recovery.”

CNBC reacted with visible surprise. “199,000 — another big miss here,” a correspondent reported. CNN’s coverage included reactions of “wow” and “huh,” with an anchor calling it the “slowest job growth of the year.”

Biden’s labor secretary acknowledged the ongoing pattern. “Every month I’m on the TV, and the pundits or the experts always have a bigger number,” the secretary said, conceding that expectations had been consistently missed.

People Quitting Are “Taking a Step Up”

Biden attempted to reframe the record number of Americans quitting their jobs as a positive sign. “There’s been a lot of press coverage about people quitting their jobs. Well, today’s report tells you why,” Biden said. “Americans are moving up to better jobs with better pay, with better benefits. That’s why they’re quitting their jobs.”

“This isn’t about workers walking away and refusing to work,” Biden insisted. “It’s about workers able to take a step up to revive themselves and their families.”

The framing contradicted data showing that 83% of American workers said their real wages were down after accounting for inflation — meaning the higher nominal wages were being eaten up by rising prices.

”Fundamentally New Approach”

Biden described his economic agenda as a break from past practice. “From day one, my economic agenda has been different. It’s been about taking a fundamentally new approach to our economy. One that sees the prosperity of working families as a solution, not the problem,” Biden said.

He claimed the results spoke for themselves. “We get more growth, higher wages, more jobs, and over time lower prices,” Biden said. “We can do all this. We can do it without increasing inflation, without increasing the deficit. Nobody making less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more in federal taxes.”

Stock Market and Selective Statistics

Biden touted the stock market — despite his administration previously dismissing it as a metric. “The stock market, the last guy’s measure of everything, is about 20 percent higher than it was when my predecessor was there. It has hit record after record after record on my watch,” Biden said.

He cited other statistics he characterized as historic: “It went from 20 million people on unemployment rolls a year ago to under 2 million people on unemployment rolls today. The increase in America’s joining the labor force was the fastest this year of any year since 1996."

"Malarkey” — Dismissing Criticism

Biden pushed back against Republican criticism and concerns from Americans about inflation. “Now I hear Republicans say today that my talking about this strong record shows that I don’t understand. A lot of people are still suffering, they say. Well, they are,” Biden acknowledged before pivoting. “Or that I’m not focused on inflation. Malarkey.”

“They want to talk down the recovery because they voted against the legislation that made it happen. I refuse to let them stand in the way of this recovery,” Biden said.

He closed with a reference to the holiday season: “The much-predicted crisis didn’t occur. The Grinch did not steal Christmas. Nor any votes.”

Key Takeaways

Biden called the December jobs report “an historic day” despite the economy adding only 199,000 jobs — missing expectations by roughly half and marking the year’s slowest growth.
He reframed record numbers of workers quitting as people “taking a step up” to better jobs, even as 83% of workers reported their real wages had declined due to inflation.
Biden described his economic agenda as a “fundamentally new approach” and claimed it would not increase inflation or the deficit.
CNBC called it “another big miss” and CNN reacted with “wow” and “huh” at the weak numbers.
Biden touted the stock market being 20% higher than under Trump — after his administration had previously dismissed stock market performance as a meaningful measure.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

I think it’s an historic day for our economic recovery. Today’s national unemployment rate fell below 4% to 3.9%.
199,000 net new jobs added in the month of December, and that is the slowest job growth of the year.
This isn’t about workers walking away and refusing to work. It’s about workers able to take a step up to revive themselves and their families.
From day one, my economic agenda has been different. It’s been about taking a fundamentally new approach to our economy.
They want to talk down the recovery because they voted against the legislation that made it happen. Malarkey.
The much-predicted crisis didn’t occur. The Grinch did not steal Christmas.

Full transcript: 593 words transcribed via Whisper AI.