From the economy to police reform: Fact checks from Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address

 

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden at Tuesday's State of the Union touted his administration’s achievements and offered an agenda for Congress this year.

But Biden left out important context from his nearly 72 minute long speech.

Here’s what was missing from his speech:

Record job creation and low unemployment rate

Biden touted record job creation – more than 12 million new jobs – since he entered the White House and the lowest unemployment rate since 1969. He called it proof his economic plan “is working.” Those numbers are accurate, and it follows a robust 517,000 new jobs added in January, bringing the unemployment rate down to 3.4% from 3.5% in December.

Yet the president did not mention a key driver behind the job growth:

Millions of jobs that returned after lockdowns: The U.S. added 4.5 million jobs in 2022, second most behind the 6.7 million gained in 2021 as the nation continued to recover from the pandemic.

Labor participation still lags pre-pandemic levels. The share of adults working or looking for a job edged up to 62.4%, the highest since March but still below the pre-pandemic level of 63.4%. 

While Biden has celebrated the jobs boom, there is some cause for concern. The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates to slow job gains and wage growth in a push to tame inflation that remains high.

Inflation 

Biden touted six straight months of slowing inflation, arguing that his policies are helping tame what’s been the top domestic challenge of his presidency. 

The president is correct that inflation is trending downward. Yet there are nuances.

Consumer prices were still up 6.5% in December from a year earlier:  Prices are trending down but Americans are still facing historically high costs of living. One household staple, eggs, are costing 60% more than a year ago.

Cost of living is high: Families are still struggling to pay high energy bills along with other rising costs for essential goods, like food and rent, that are increasing at a faster rate than the overall rate of inflation. Grocery prices rose 10.4% annually in December and rent rose about 7.5%, while overall inflation increased by 6.5%.