The disappointing July Jobs Report revealed that unemployment rose to 4.3.%
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) outlined how the situation is even worse than the numbers indicate.
Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration in January 2021, 1.8 million more Americans have had to take multiple jobs. In July, another 33,000 Americans took on second or third jobs. Over the last year, 508,000 full-time jobs have been replaced with 548,000 part-time jobs.
Of the relatively few full time jobs that were actually created, (particularly considering that the nation’s economy was coming out of Covid) many were government positions which draw from, rather than add to, the national economy. Since the Biden-Harris Administration began, 30 percent of new jobs have come from hiring for government salaries. In July, government agencies added 17,000 to taxpayer-funded payrolls.
Chairman Smith examined the type of jobs that ar essential to the U.S. middle class, and found depressing results. In the last year, American manufacturers have added only 14,000 total jobs. In July, manufacturers added just 1,000 jobs following an 8,000 cut in June.
The Jobs Report was just one analysis of an economy in distress. The Ways and Means committee chair added the following indicators:
Families Falling Behind on Bills: Over one-third of families (37 percent) paid a late fee in the past year.
Everything Costs More: Prices have increased 20.1 percent since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration.
Americans Making Less: Real wages and benefits have fallen 3.6 percent since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration.
Inflation Above Fed’s Target: For 39 straight months, inflation has been above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.
Inflation Higher Than Wages: Inflation outpaced wages for 26 straight months under the Biden-Harris Administration.
Historic Interest Rates: Under the Biden-Harris Administration, interest rates hit their highest levels in 23 years.
Nearly Doubled Mortgage Costs: The monthly mortgage payment for a median priced new home has increased by $1,027 and is 91 percent higher than when President Biden and Vice President Harris took office in January 2021.
$1 Trillion+ Credit Card Debt: Credit card interest rates are at the highest level in more than three decades, while consumer credit debt has exceeded $1 trillion for the second calendar quarter and the number of Americans struggling to pay credit card bills has increased to the highest level in 12 years.
Shrinking Savings: Thanks to higher prices, families have spent the entirety of their pandemic savings by 2024, and they are able to save less of their income. At 3.4 percent, the personal savings rate is near its historic lows.
Families Falling Behind on Bills: Over one-third of families (37 percent) paid a late fee in the past year.
An Investopedia analysis also provided a worrisome outlook. “Three separate reports delivered downbeat surprises. Construction spending fell in June for the second month in a row, dropping 0.3%, the Census Bureau said. Forecasters had expected a 0.2% increase instead, according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal.”
In terms of the overall American economy, The Congressional Budget Office has published worrisome data. the federal budget deficit in fiscal year 2024 is $1.9 trillion. Adjusted to exclude the effects of shifts in the timing of certain payments, the deficit amounts to $2.0 trillion in 2024 and grows to $2.8 trillion by 2034. With such adjustments, deficits equal 7.0 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 and 6.5 percent of GDP in 2025. … By 2034, the adjusted deficit equals 6.9 percent of GDP—significantly more than the 3.7 percent that deficits have averaged over the past 50 year.
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