Finance

Trump can’t take credit for Friday’s jobs report

Donald Trump Carrier jobsPresident-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence talk with factory workers during a visit to the Carrier factory, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, in Indianapolis, Ind.AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Friday’s jobs report marks the first time that the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its employment number for the US since President Donald Trump took office.

The report beat expectations on headline jobs growth, with 227,000 jobs added versus the Wall Street expectation of only 180,000.

The number is a strong one, despite lagging wage growth and a slight uptick in the unemployment rate (mostly due to an increasing labor force participation rate).

While this report was released two weeks into Trump’s presidency, it is not technically “his.”

The BLS conducts the survey — both of households and businesses (or “establishments”) — the week and pay period that includes the twelfth of the month.

Since the report is for the month of January, that means the survey was conducted from January 9-13, the week before Trump’s inauguration.

So while the number might’ve been boosted by a post-election bounce, technically the gains should be added to the totals of President Barack Obama. Thus, Obama’s final employment non-farm payroll increase ticks up to 11,477,000 and Trump’s still stands at 0.

Trump’s total will kick off next month, with the February jobs report coming out on Friday, March 3.

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