Although the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report on Friday showing the U.S. economy adding an estimated 559,000 jobs in May was more than 100,000 lower than the consensus estimate of economists, President Joe Biden promptly took a victory lap.
“We’re on the right track, our plan is working, and we’re not going to let up now,” Biden said in remarks Friday morning that were notably more positive than a month ago, when a lower-than-expected jobs report had him warning that the country had “a long way to go.”
Speaking from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Biden gave credit to both the American people and the economic recovery package championed by his administration.
“No other major economy in the world is growing as fast as ours,” Biden said. “No other major economy is gaining jobs as quickly as ours. And none of this success is an accident. It isn’t luck. It’s due in no small part … to the cooperation of the American people in responding to my effort to get COVID under control, wearing a mask initially and getting vaccinated.”
Republicans focused on the fact that the jobs report had not met the consensus estimate, and used that fact to criticize Biden’s handling of the economy.
“As we emerge from the virus, our economy should be booming, but today’s lackluster jobs report…
