Several economic indicators show signs of weakness in the U.S. labor market under President Joe Biden’s administration, despite trillions of dollars in federal spending on economic policy and critical business regulation. It makes clear what is being shown.

Americans seeking new job opportunities will face a variety of hurdles during the current administration’s term, including “economic instability” and increased competition, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation. It is said that there are many cases. Nevertheless, the White House has repeatedly guaranteed Americans believe the U.S. job market has been strong during Biden’s only term in office.

“Today, job seekers face three big challenges,” Peter Earle, senior economist at the National Bureau of Economic Research, told DCNF. “First, the labor market is cooling.The total number of job openings has declined since its peak in March 2022, so competition for the shrinking number of job openings is intensifying. Many small and medium-sized enterprises are scaling back their hiring and expansion plans.Second, the hiring process is becoming longer and new regulations are being introduced. Certain industries, such as manufacturing and technology, are also seeing layoffs as they try to recover from the pendulum swings of lockdowns, reopenings, and economic instability. . Some of these trends may be reversed, as there has been a lot of optimism among self-employed people recently.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.2% as of November 2024, up from 3.7% the previous year. reported. this is, low In January 2023, it was 3.4%. (Related: Biden’s decision to block U.S. steel trade sparks lawsuits, backlash from Japan)

According to the BLS, as of November 2024, the number of long-term unemployed people, or people who have been unemployed for more than 27 weeks, was 1.7 million, up from 1.2 million a year earlier. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed people in November 2024 was 7.1 million, up from 6.3 million in November 2023, BLS reported.

Job seekers are also facing Intensifying competition When applying for a job. In 2023, job seekers had to submit an average of 254 applications to get a job, while in 2024 they needed an average of 294 applications. According to Go to Pathrise.

weekdays report A study published in September 2024 found that competition was increasing in several industries, with media, technology and communications being the most competitive, with an average of 30 applicants per offer. got it.

The effective job openings-to-applicants ratio is decreasing compared to the unemployed. peak According to a July 2024 blog post on the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) Blog, by March 2022, the number of job openings per unemployed person will decrease from 2 to 1.2.

Much of Biden’s term was also marred by stubborn inflation, which peaked at 9.1% in June 2022. The Consumer Price Index, a broad measure of the prices of everyday goods, rose 2.7% annually in November 2024, according to the BLS. reported.

Inflation rose during Biden’s first two years in office. exceeded Wages for most workers. Real wages in the U.S. also fell from November 2020 to September 2024, according to data compiled by . Statista.

Certain regulations introduced by the Biden-Harris administration have caused several companies to lay off employees to cut costs, an expert explained to DCNF.

“The Biden administration has issued an extraordinary number of regulations that impose extra costs on businesses,” said Richard Stern, director of the Grover M. Herman Center on the Federal Budget at the Heritage Foundation. told DCNF. “They are [the regulations] Prohibit the operation of specific businesses at all. Tying a company’s hands in that way means that it will eventually have to either downsize its operations, meaning it will have to cut employees or raise prices for consumers. means. ”

Some experts say that massive government spending under the Biden administration is responsible for accelerating the persistently high inflation rate. Biden signed inflation control law (IRA) will become law in August 2022 as part of his signature climate change agenda.

The Biden-Harris administration has so far billions of with a grant for various Clean energy projects through your IRA. some estimates project IRA costs will exceed $1 trillion from 2023 to 2032.

The national debt continues to rise under the Biden administration, in part because it stands at $1.9 trillion. american rescue plan Signed into law in 2021. As of Monday, the U.S. national debt was $36.17 trillion. national deficit It was $624 billion.

“Consumer prices rose 21% during Biden’s term because of reckless spending, money printing, new taxes and regulations. And that puts downward pressure on jobs and wages again. All of this. “When you put it all together, it’s kind of a miracle that the economy is working as well as it has,” Stern added.

The money supply increased significantly during Biden’s first year in office as the government continued to print money to finance the nation’s huge debt burden. According to To Fred.

Many consumers and businesses have been forced to contend with soaring prices during Biden’s term. Consumer prices in the United States are woke up Approximately 20% from 2021 onwards.

Americans have found it increasingly difficult to make credit card payments and mortgage payments in recent years. Credit card defaults rose to a 14-year high in the first nine months of 2024, and U.S. mortgage rates rose to their highest level in nearly six months heading into the end of 2024. . (Related: Turns out Biden’s economy wasn’t that good for American workers after all)

Average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the United States It was About 7% as of Monday, down from before. peak 7.79% in October 2023.

“Working families’ finances have taken a hit under the Biden administration,” Earl told DCNF. “Prices are rising far faster than the Fed’s annual target, and interest rates have been raised to levels not seen in 15 years to slow the rise. The cost has also increased.”

The Federal Reserve announced that it would cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point in December 2024, marking the third consecutive rate cut since September 2024. Before the September rate cut, the Fed had kept its target range at its highest range, between 5.25% and 5.50%. Since 2001 — to control inflation.

Notably, many Americans have had to adopt second sources of income in recent years to make ends meet. market watch investigation According to a paper published in August 2024, 54% of Americans said they had worked a side job in the past 12 months to “supplement their main source of income.”

Some U.S. consumers and workers appear to be feeling more optimistic about their careers following the results of the November 2024 presidential election. As President-elect Donald Trump approaches his return to the Oval Office, nearly two-thirds of Americans say they are optimistic about the impact the incoming Trump administration will have on their careers. investigation Found it. Meanwhile, recent investigation Consumers’ outlook on the labor market improved in December, with 37% saying jobs were “abundant,” up from 33.6% in November, the Conference Board said.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment from DCNF.

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