September 27, 2012 by David K. Sutton
Net New Jobs: A Republican Distortion That Can No Longer Be Used
For “low information voters,” Republicans have repeatedly used the talking point that President Obama has not created one net new job during his first term. While this was technically true, it ignores the fact that millions of new jobs have been created during Obama’s first four years, post-Great Recession.
I assume most Left Call readers already understand the distinction. When Obama took office we were losing hundreds-of-thousands of jobs each month, but every month since mid-2010 there has been private sector job growth. At some point we were going to cross the threshold where more jobs have been created since the Great Recession than were lost during the Great Recession (within Obama’s first term — the recession started when Bush was still president). — We have now reached that point.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released revised job numbers today, which is routine, and they found that 386,000 more jobs have been created since 2011 then originally reported. That revision officially puts net job creation in positive territory for the first time during Obama’s presidency.
That politically sensitive threshold has been at the center of the presidential debate. While it has little economic relevance, its political significance has been substantial, with Mitt Romney’s campaign regularly reminding voters that there has been a net loss of jobs since Obama took office.
Earlier this month on MSNBC, Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said President Obama “hasn’t created one single net new job since he’s been president.” – New Jobs Numbers Put Obama In Net Job Growth Territory, TPM
It’s a small detail, but it’s a big deal, especially heading into the presidential debates. Mitt Romney can no longer say Obama has not created one net new job. This was a bullshit talking point from the start, but now it’s a dead talking point.
