Unemployment
One of the most heated topics in our country's politics is the economy, and one of the most widely-used measures of the economy is the annual unemployment rate. What often happens is that the party controlling the White House claims that unemployment rates have gone down during their time in the White House, while the opposite party will claim that certain figures have not been accounted for, and therefore the unemployment rate is actually much higher. However, since unemployment rates have always been measured with the same metrics, if it was understated in 2008, then it was also understated in 2000, 1992, and 1988. Therefore, we can continue to measure the economy by comparing the current unemployment rate with those of previous years.
To see whether unemployment rates in recent years have been "good", we researched the annual rates over the past six presidencies (from Reagan to Trump), starting in 1981, when Reagan was inaugurated, to 2018, the last complete year. We also included the years each president served in office (although we didn't include their last year, in which they would have only served for one month) as well as their political party.
Unemployment Rates from 1981-2000 in the United States
Unemployment Rates from 2001-2015 in the United States
Negative percentages are good - they indicate a reduction in unemployment, whereas positive numbers indicate an increase in the unemployment rate
1981-1988: Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Total Change: -2.1%
1989-1992: George H.W. Bush (Republican)
Total Change: +2.2%
1993-2000: Bill Clinton (Democrat)
Total Change: -2.9%
2001-2008: George W. Bush (Republican)
Total Change: +1.1%
2009-2016: Barack Obama (Democrat)
Total Change: -4.4%
2017-2018: Donald Trump (Republican)
Total Change: -1.0%
