CLAIM: “Under my Administration, we’ve gone from the brink of financial collapse to historic job growth. We have a lot of work to do still – but this is progress,” President Joe Biden tweeted Thursday.
Verdict: False.
Jobless claims remain well above their expected long-term average of 270,000 and never once during Biden’s administration did they fall below 300,000 prior to this month. Total employment remains below its prepandemic level and the prime-age employment to population ratio is still depressed.
The economy was not on the brink of financial collapse when Biden took office. Real Gross Domestic Product grew at an annualized rate of 33.4 percent in the third quarter of 2020 as the economy rebounded from the brief but sharp recession that straddled the first and second quarters. It grew at a 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter. In the first quarter of this year, the economy grew at a 6.4 percent rate. In the second quarter, the economy grew 6.6 percent. It has since slowed dramatically, with the Conference Board estimating an annual rate of 3.5 percent.
The country was on the brink of a financial collapse in 2020 but it was pulled back from that brink while Donald Trump was still president.