Growth & employment
All 16 modern US presidents ranked by their net score on this single sub-criterion. Good and harm are scored 0–10 independently; net is good minus harm. Click a name for the full scorecard.
Unemployment fell from 7.3% (Jan 1993) to 4.2% (Jan 2001). Real GDP grew ~4%/year average. ~22 million jobs added. Among strongest 8-year economic records of modern era.
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- good·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Clinton presided over longest economic expansion in US history to that point; unemployment reached 30-year low (3.8% in April 2000); ~22 million net jobs added.
bls.gov ↗
Unemployment fell from ~25% (1933) to ~14% (1937), spiked back to ~19% in the 1937-38 recession, then fell to <2% by 1944. GDP doubled in real terms 1933-1945.
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- good·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Unemployment fell from ~25% in 1933 to under 2% by 1944, with a notable 1937-38 reversal; real GDP roughly doubled across the period.
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Unemployment fell from 5.5% (Nov 1963) to 3.4% (Jan 1969). Real GDP grew ~5%/year average. Era of peak postwar prosperity.
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- good·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Unemployment fell to 3.4% by end of term — lowest of postwar era to that point — alongside ~5%/year real GDP growth.
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Real GDP grew ~5%/year average; unemployment fell from 6.7% (Jan 1961) to 5.5% (Nov 1963).
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- good·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Strong recovery from 1960-61 recession; sustained growth and unemployment decline across the term.
bea.gov ↗
Reconversion to peacetime produced no major recession; postwar boom set up sustained growth. 1948-49 mild recession; 1953 Korean-mobilization peak.
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- good·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Unemployment averaged 4.0% across Truman's term, with reconversion producing a brief mild recession in 1948-49 but no postwar depression as feared.
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Inherited 7.8% unemployment rising to 10% (Oct 2009); recovery brought to 4.7% (Jan 2017). 11.6 million private-sector jobs added during recovery (longest streak in history).
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- good·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Unemployment recovered from 10% (October 2009 peak) to 4.7% (January 2017); 75 consecutive months of private-sector job gains, longest streak in US history.
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Unemployment fell from 6.7% (Jan 2021) to 4.1% (Jan 2025). ~16 million jobs added — strongest 4-year job creation since Carter. Real GDP grew ~2.5%/year average.
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- good·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Biden term saw approximately 16 million net new jobs (largest 4-year addition since Carter); unemployment reached 50-year low (3.4% January 2023); growth steady ~2.5%/year.
bls.gov ↗
Real GDP grew ~2.5%/year average. Three recessions but no major downturn. Unemployment averaged ~5%.
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- good·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Eight-year unemployment average ~5%; three recessions (1953-54, 1957-58, 1960-61) but cumulative real GDP growth ~22% across the term.
bls.gov ↗
1981-82 recession: unemployment peaked at 10.8% (December 1982), worst since Great Depression. Recovery 1983-89: 16 million jobs added; unemployment fell to 5.4% (1989). Real GDP grew ~3.5%/year average across expansion years.
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- good·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Severe 1981-82 recession (unemployment peak 10.8%) followed by 84-month expansion adding 16 million jobs and reducing unemployment to 5.4% by end of term.
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Unemployment peaked at 9.0% (May 1975). Recovery began 1976. Inflation peaked 12.3% (1974), fell to ~5%.
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- harm·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Stagflation peaked under Ford with unemployment at 9.0% and inflation at 12.3% in 1974-75; modest recovery 1976.
bls.gov ↗
Inherited 4.1% unemployment. Tariff regime produced supply-chain disruption and stock market volatility. Recession concerns documented through Q2 2025. Specific employment trajectory through 2026 carries uncertainty.
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- harm·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Stock indexes fell substantially following April 2, 2025 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements; subsequent partial reversals; economic-impact analysis ongoing.
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1969-70 recession; 1973-75 recession (1973 oil shock). Inflation rising throughout term. Unemployment 3.5% (1969) to 6.6% (mid-1971) and 5.6% (1974).
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- harm·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Stagflation onset under Nixon: inflation rose from 5.5% (1969) to 11% (1974) while unemployment also rose, breaking the Phillips Curve relationship that had defined postwar macroeconomic management.
bls.gov ↗
1990-91 recession. Unemployment rose from 5.4% (Jan 1989) to 7.8% (Jun 1992). Slow recovery cost election.
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- harm·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Eight-month recession (July 1990-March 1991) followed by slow 'jobless recovery'; unemployment didn't peak until June 1992 election year.
bls.gov ↗
Unemployment fell from 4.7% (Jan 2017) to 3.5% (Feb 2020) — continuing Obama trajectory. COVID-19 produced 14.7% unemployment (April 2020) — worst since Great Depression. Net jobs lost over 4 years (~3 million).
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- harm·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Trump T1 ended with net job loss of ~3 million across the term — first net job loss since Hoover — driven by COVID-19 pandemic recession; pre-pandemic trajectory continued Obama-era recovery.
bls.gov ↗
Unemployment fell early-term then rose with 1980 recession. Inflation peaked 13.5% (1980). Misery index reached 21.98 (June 1980).
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- harm·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
Stagflation peaked under Carter: inflation 13.5% (1980), unemployment 7.5% (Dec 1980), 'misery index' reached postwar highs.
bls.gov ↗
2001 recession (mild). 2007-2009 Great Recession (most severe since Great Depression). Unemployment from 4.2% (Jan 2001) to 7.8% (Jan 2009). Net jobs near zero over 8 years.
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- harm·Tier 1·Statistic·Unverified
GW Bush term spanned two recessions including Great Recession of 2007-2009; net job creation across 8 years was approximately zero — worst since Hoover.
bls.gov ↗