In a recent interview, Vice President Kamala Harris made an inaccurate statement regarding former President Donald Trump’s record on manufacturing jobs.
- Harris cited incorrect figures about manufacturing job losses before the pandemic under Trump.
- The actual data indicates a net gain in manufacturing jobs during Trump’s tenure before the pandemic hit.
- Harris’s own campaign misrepresented her statements on social media, further spreading the inaccuracies.
- This report examines the factual data and clarifies the actual figures related to manufacturing employment under Trump.
Vice President Kamala Harris, during an interview on MSNBC, incorrectly claimed that the United States lost ‘at least 200,000’ manufacturing jobs before the Covid-19 pandemic under former President Donald Trump. Harris’s statement does not align with the actual data available on manufacturing jobs during Trump’s tenure.
The facts indicate that from January 2017 to February 2020, the United States added 414,000 manufacturing jobs. It is important to note that while there was a significant drop in manufacturing employment in March and April 2020 due to pandemic-related economic shutdowns, this was after the period Harris referred to in her statement.
The overall net change in manufacturing jobs during Trump’s presidency, accounting for the pandemic period, was a loss of 178,000 jobs. This figure differs substantially from Harris’s claim of a pre-pandemic loss of ‘at least 200,000’ jobs.
Harris’s campaign later attempted to explain her statements. A campaign aide highlighted Harris’s earlier accurate remarks that the cumulative job loss during Trump’s presidency was almost 200,000, starting before the pandemic. However, the nuance was lost when the campaign’s social media paraphrased her words incorrectly, claiming all losses occurred pre-pandemic.
Additionally, Harris stated, ‘Donald Trump left us with the worst economy since the Great Depression’. While Trump’s overall jobs record includes a net loss of jobs, this claim is not straightforward. The unemployment rate, which peaked at 14.8% in April 2020, had decreased to 6.4% by January 2021, not making it the worst rate since the Great Depression. This highlights the importance of precise and accurate representation of economic data.
Ensuring accuracy in public statements is crucial, especially regarding economic data.
