Nonfarm payroll jobs, term by term
Every term lined up from its inauguration. Context is everything: compare the start of a term with the trend it inherited and with what was happening in the world (recessions, pandemics), all of which are on the full nonfarm payroll jobs chart.
Of the 8 completed terms with data, the number of payroll jobs rose fastest under Joe Biden, at +3.94 million jobs/yr against −0.71 million jobs/yr in the four years before, and fell fastest under Donald Trump (1st term), at −0.71 million jobs/yr against +2.58 million jobs/yr in the four years before. So far under Donald Trump (2nd term), it has gone from 158.3 million jobs in Dec 2024 to 159.0 million jobs in Sep 2026.
Numbers
| President | During term | 4 years before |
|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump (2nd term) | 158.3 million jobs → 159.0 million jobs +0.42 million jobs/yr · through Sep 2026 | +3.94 million jobs/yr |
| Joe Biden | 142.5 million jobs → 158.3 million jobs +3.94 million jobs/yr | −0.71 million jobs/yr |
| Donald Trump (1st term) | 145.4 million jobs → 142.5 million jobs −0.71 million jobs/yr | +2.58 million jobs/yr |
| Barack Obama | 134.8 million jobs → 145.4 million jobs +1.32 million jobs/yr | +0.55 million jobs/yr |
| George W. Bush | 132.7 million jobs → 134.8 million jobs +0.27 million jobs/yr | +2.89 million jobs/yr |
| Bill Clinton | 109.5 million jobs → 132.7 million jobs +2.90 million jobs/yr | +0.65 million jobs/yr |
| George H. W. Bush | 106.9 million jobs → 109.5 million jobs +0.65 million jobs/yr | +2.70 million jobs/yr |
| Ronald Reagan | 90.9 million jobs → 106.9 million jobs +1.99 million jobs/yr | +2.62 million jobs/yr |
| Jimmy Carter | 80.4 million jobs → 90.9 million jobs +2.62 million jobs/yr | +1.29 million jobs/yr |