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MaddowBlog

From The Rachel Maddow Show

Job growth easily exceeds expectations with blockbuster May totals

The economy has now created more than 13.6 million jobs since January 2021 — more than double the combined total of Trump’s first three years in office.

By Steve Benen

Expectations heading into this morning showed projections of about 190,000 new jobs having been added in the United States in May. As it turns out, according to the new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the hot job market easily outpaced those. CNBC reported this morning:

The U.S. economy continued to crank out jobs in May, with nonfarm payrolls surging more than expected despite multiple headwinds, the Labor Department reported Friday. Payrolls in the public and private sector increased by 339,000 for the month, better than the 190,000 Dow Jones estimate and marking the 29th straight month of positive job growth. The unemployment rate was at 3.7% against the estimate for 3.5%, just above the lowest level since 1969.

Thanks to revised totals from March and April, we’ve now seen over 1.5 million jobs created so far this year — and that’s after just five months.

At first blush, the fact that the unemployment rate inched higher might seem discouraging, but let’s not forget that these shifts aren’t always bad news: Amid a surprisingly strong job market, more people seek employment, which has the effect of pushing the rate higher.

I’m mindful of the chatter about whether the economy is in a recession, but by any reasonable measure, these are not recession-like conditions.

As for the politics, let’s circle back to previous coverage to put the data in perspective. Over the course of the first three years of Donald Trump’s presidency — when the Republican said the United States’ economy was the greatest in the history of the planet — the economy created roughly 6.35 million jobs, spanning all of 2017, 2018 and 2019.

According to the latest tally, the U.S. economy has created roughly 13.6 million jobs since January 2021 — more than double the combined total of Trump’s first three years.

In recent months, Republicans have responded to developments like these by pretending not to notice them. I have a hunch GOP officials will keep the trend going today.

This post is a revised version of our related earlier coverage.

Steve Benen

Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics."