The unemployment rate was flat at 4.1% in October, but employment growth slowed due to damage from hurricanes Helen and Milton and renewed strike activity. Job growth is expected to pick up in November as hurricane recovery and rebuilding efforts continue. Additionally, I would like to commend the leaders of the Machinists Union and Boeing Company for negotiating a new contract through a vote of union members. Boeing mechanics have made sacrifices over the years and deserve a strong contract.
The American economy remains strong, with 16 million jobs created since I took office, including an average of 180,000 jobs created each month over the last year, more than in the year before the pandemic. . Our average unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been in 50 years, our economy has grown faster than any presidential term in this century, incomes are $4,000 above prices, and inflation is near our 2% target. I’m doing it.
There is still work to be done. We work every day to lower the costs of rent, prescription drugs, health insurance, and child care for working families. But Congressional Republicans are proposing a national sales tax that would cost households nearly $4,000 a year, hurt U.S. manufacturing and eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs. They are fighting for tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations, while we are fighting to grow the middle class.
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