# Economy, crime and health under Ronald Reagan, 1981–1989

Source page: https://govargus.com/presidents/reagan

Republican · Jan 20, 1981 – Jan 20, 1989

Each indicator shows how it changed during the term next to the four years before it. A term's first year mostly reflects the previous administration's policies, and Congress, the Federal Reserve and the world economy move these numbers too. Govargus describes; it does not score presidents.

## Economy

| Indicator | During term | 4 years before |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unemployment rate | 7.2% → 5.3% (−0.24 pts/yr) | −0.15 pts/yr |
| Nonfarm payroll jobs | 90.9 million jobs → 106.9 million jobs (+1.99 million jobs/yr) | +2.62 million jobs/yr |
| Real GDP growth | avg 3.5% | avg 3.2% |
| Inflation (CPI, year over year) | avg 4.6% | avg 9.8% |
| Labor force participation | 63.6% → 66.1% (+0.31 pts/yr) | +0.45 pts/yr |

## Households

| Indicator | During term | 4 years before |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Real median weekly earnings (1982–84 $) | $315 → $324 (+$1/yr) | — |
| Gasoline price (regular, per gallon) | $1.26 → $0.93 (−$0.04/yr) | +$0.16/yr |
| Egg prices (grade A large, per dozen) | $1.03 → $0.83 (−$0.02/yr) | — |
| 30-year mortgage rate | 14.79% → 10.61% (−0.52 pts/yr) | +1.50 pts/yr |
| Real median household income | no data | no data |
| Poverty rate | no data | no data |

## Federal budget

| Indicator | During term | 4 years before |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Federal surplus or deficit (% of GDP) | avg −4.3% | avg −2.2% |
| Federal debt (% of GDP) | 31.2% → 49.7% (+2.32 pts/yr) | −0.66 pts/yr |
| National debt (dollars) | $0.93 trillion → $2.68 trillion (+$0.22 trillion/yr) | +$0.07 trillion/yr |

## Public safety

| Indicator | During term | 4 years before |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Violent crime rate | 597 per 100k → 641 per 100k (+5 per 100k/yr) | — |
| Property crime rate | 5,353 per 100k → 5,054 per 100k (−37 per 100k/yr) | — |
| Murder rate | 10.2 per 100k → 8.5 per 100k (−0.22 per 100k/yr) | — |
| Firearm death rate | no data | no data |

## Health

| Indicator | During term | 4 years before |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Life expectancy at birth | 73.6 years → 74.8 years (+0.14 years/yr) | +0.19 years/yr |
| Drug overdose death rate | no data | no data |
| Uninsured rate | no data | no data |

## Policy record

- Substantive public laws signed: 1891; plus 582 naming or commemorative
- Executive orders: not in the Federal Register record, which starts in 1994

## Tracked events during the term

- Aug 13, 1981, law: Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. Cuts the top income tax rate from 70% to 50% and phases in broad rate cuts and indexing.
- Oct 22, 1986, law: Tax Reform Act of 1986. Broadens the tax base and lowers rates; top rate falls to 28%.
- Oct 19, 1987, shock: Black Monday stock crash. The Dow falls 22.6% in a single day.