(Bloomberg ) President Joe Biden stated that his economic strategy is succeeding after an analysis showed that the U.S. had added a record number of jobs in 2021, a significant increase from 2020’s unprecedented losses.

“That’s the most jobs in any calendar year by any president in history,” Biden said Friday at the White House after the release of Labor Department data. “America is back to work.”

He sought to discredit polls that showed voters were unhappy with the president’s handling of the economy. This was largely due to the fact that he had sparked inflation. Biden also disputed assertions from GOP lawmakers who say he’s not doing enough to address inflation, outlining steps the administration is taking to ease kinks in global supply chains.

“I would argue, the Biden economic plan is working,” Biden said.

Following the loss of more than 22,000,000 jobs during the pandemics, there was a rebound in services demand. Pandemic-weary customers increased their spending on food and travel after the vaccines became widely available in early 2021. And excess savings, fueled in part by the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion stimulus bill in March, bolstered demand for goods.

In December, the unemployment rate was 3.9%. This is well below what economists expected at the beginning of this year. Biden noted an increase in wages and decreased layoffs.

Biden reiterated his request to lawmakers that they pass the roughly $2 trillion tax- and social spending program, saying that it would address high prices. The Federal Reserve was also mentioned by Biden as an agent of inflation control.

“I’m confident the Federal Reserve will act to achieve their dual goals of full employment and stable prices and make sure the price increases do not become entrenched over a long term, with the independence that they need,” Biden said. “But the best way that I as president, and the Congress as a legislature can tackle high prices, is by building a more productive economy with greater capacity to deliver for the American people.”

Stock Market

Biden also highlighted that the stock market has boomed since he took office, underscoring that his focus on boosting working-class families isn’t at the expense of the wealthy. 

“By the way, the stock market — the last guy’s measure of everything — it’s about 20% higher than it was when my predecessor was there,” he said, referring to Donald Trump’s regular touting of equity-market gains during his administration. “It has hit record after record after record on my watch while making things more equitable for working-class people.”

Updates with Biden comments

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