President Joe Biden aimed to calm fears of a possible recession in his remarks about the May jobs report Friday.
The U.S. economy added 390,000 jobs in May while the unemployment rate remained at its previous 3.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report showed. The May jobs report coincides with growing fears of a possible recession — a point Biden tried to shrug off in his morning remarks.
“We’ve laid an economic foundation that’s historically strong, and now we’re moving forward to a new moment where we can build on that foundation to build a future of stable steady growth, so we can bring down inflation without sacrificing all the historic gains we’ve made,” the president, speaking from Delaware, said after touting the “excellent job reporting on employment remaining near historic lows.”
Biden tried to rally spirits, telling the nation that “there’s every reason for the American people to feel confident that we’ll meet these challenges.” He also said there’s been “enormous progress” made “on the economy.”
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While acknowledging sky-high prices around the U.S., the president argued that the latest jobs report indicates the country is able to conquer inflation concerns. (RELATED: New Home Sales Plummet, Sparking Recession Fears)
“We aren’t likely to see the kind of blockbuster job reports month after month like we had over this past year, but that’s a good thing,” Biden said. “That’s a sign of a healthy economy, with steady growth, rising wages for working families, everyday costs easing up and shrinking the deficit. That stability puts us a strong position to tackle what is clearly a problem: Inflation.”
Biden reiterated that “fighting inflation” is his “top economic priority” before moving on to discuss efforts he said will bring down costs for families. Biden also continued to blame increased gas prices and grocery stores costs on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, echoing the now-familiar “Putin’s Price Hike” tagline.
“Both of these challenges have been directly exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Biden said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was the latest high-profile individual to address the economy, telling Reuters in an email that he has a “super bad feeling” about it. Musk also called for a “pause [on] all hiring worldwide” amid said fears.