Fact-Checking Bill Clinton’s DNC Speech

In his speech at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, former president Bill Clinton presented striking statistics on job growth. He remarked, “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 [Million], Republicans 1 [Million].” 

Clinton’s figures are indeed accurate. Since 1989, the US has seen the creation of 51 million jobs under six presidencies. Of these, 50 million were created under the Democratic administrations of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. In contrast, just 1 million were created under Republican presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.  

When we broaden the analysis to include employment changes since World War II, Democratic presidents have been responsible for the creation of 88 million new jobs, compared to 32 million under Republican administrations. 

Even when narrowing the analysis to compare just the Biden and Trump presidencies, the differences are still significant. If we don’t account for the impact of COVID-19 under Trump’s term (2020-2021)  and the economic rebound at the beginning of Biden’s presidency (2021),7.5 million jobs were created during Biden’s first two years in office, as reported by the 2022-2023 BLS Employment Situation data. In comparison, approximately 4.8 million jobs were created under Trump in 2018 and 2019, according to the BLS Employment Situation reports.

Regardless of the time periods examined, the data presented by former President Clinton reveals a significant disparity in job growth across different administrations, with Democrats consistently generating a substantial majority of new jobs over time. 

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