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Almost 3.9 million new jobs created since Trump
Opinion

A whopping 420,000 Americans found jobs in September according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As a result, nearly 3.9 million more Americans have jobs since President Donald Trump came into office in January 2017.

Critically, the unemployment level at 3.7 percent is the lowest it has been since 1969. And that comes amid rising labor participation among 16- to 64-year-olds, now at its highest level since 2010, a time when it was still significantly declining.

The population of 16-64-year-olds has increased from 205.3 million to 206.6 million, an increase of 1.3 million.

The number of 16-64 year olds not in the labor force has decreased from 55.9 million in January 2017 to 54.9 million today, a decrease of 1 million, while those in the labor force has increased from 149.4 million to 151.7 million, an increase of 2.3 million.

As a result, labor participation among 16-64-year-olds has increased from an average of 72.95 percent in 2016 to 73.4 percent even as 16 and over (including seniors) has remained stuck at 62.7 percent.

Once you correct for the retirement wave among Baby Boomers, Americans who had been on the sidelines are finally getting back to work. This is really great news.

The economy is booming. This jobs miracle comes amid accelerating economic growth this year, giving the U.S. the first opportunity to have 3 percent growth since 2005.

The U.S. economy has not grown above 4 percent since 2000, and not above 3 percent since 2005.

So far, the first two quarters have come in at 2.2 percent and 4.2 percent growth, respectively.

To get back on trend for three percent for year, the U.S. economy now needs to grow at about an inflation-adjusted 3.98 percent in the third quarter, and then it can finish out the fourth quarter with 3 percent. That would get us exactly 3 percent for the year.

The good news is that the economy may already be on trend to doing exactly that. Right now, Atlanta Fed’s GPDNOW estimate is coming in at 4.1 percent for the third quarter.

So far, so good.

There is still more to do, but now there is a formula for success, and it has everything to do with creating the conditions for Americans to return to the labor force.

President Trump promised that if he were elected, America would start winning again, and it’s hard not to give credit where credit is due. The tax cuts, the deregulation, the emphasis on better trade deals — now, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and Japan are under his belt — it is all working exactly the way Trump said it would.

But, really, is anyone surprised?


Robert Romano is the vice president of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.