• Since World War 2, 55,794,000 jobs have been created under Democratic Presidents, while 38,256,000 jobs have been created under Republican Presidents
  • Jobs have grown an average of twice as fast annually under Democratic Presidents than under Republican Presidents
  • Nine of the last ten recessions have occurred under Republican presidents.
  • Republican presidents' deficits are twice as large as Democrats' and nearly twice as high as a percent of GDP.
  • GDP grows 52% faster under Democratic presidents.
  • Businesses invest more than two times as much under Democratic presidents.
Data compiled here come from official government sources such as Statistical Abstracts of the United States, the Economic Reports of the President, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For more information and data, see www.presidentialdata.org. Contact: Jere Glover, 21st Century Democrats, 2120 L Street NW, Suite 305, Washington, D.C. 20037. Phone: 202.628.0100

DEMOCRATS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

This data is compiled by offsetting a President's Administration by a year to account for the fact that the Federal budget for any given fiscal year is drafted and passed in the previous calendar year. For example, 1993's budget was drafted and passed in 1992, during the Bush administration, so that year is ascribed to President Bush, even though President Clinton was in office in 1993.

One exception has been made: 2009's ARRA was drafted and passed by the Obama administration, creating $114 billion of Federal outlays for 2009. That amount has been subtracted from President Bush II's 2009 budget/deficit total and added to President Obama's.

Since World War II . . .

  • Almost twice as many jobs are created per year under Democratic Presidents than Republican Presidents (1.8 million jobs under Democratic Presidents versus one million jobs under Republican Presidents.)
  • The deficit under Republican Presidents has been more than twice as large as the under Democratic Presidents. In dollars, Republican Presidents have contributed nearly $4 trillion more to the national debt than Democratic Presidents.
  • GDP growth has been 52% higher under Democratic Presidents.
  • Business Investment Growth has been 165% higher under Democratic Presidents.
  • Unemployment has been 23% higher under Republican Presidents.
  • Average increase in weekly earnings have been 107.5% higher under Democratic Presidents
  • Nine of the last ten recessions have occurred under Republican Presidents (www.nber.org/cycles.html)

JOB GROWTH

Democratic Presidents have created 17.5 million more jobs than Republican Presidents, and jobs have grown nearly twice as fast under Democratic Presidents as under Republican Presidents.

  • Total jobs created under Democratic Presidents: 55,794,000
  • Total jobs created under Republican Presidents: 38,256,000
  • Average jobs gained per year under Democratic Presidents: 1,830,000
  • Average jobs gained per year under Republican Presidents: 1,063,000

GDP GROWTH

Real Gross Domestic Product growth under Democratic Presidents has been 52% higher than during Republican Presidents.

  • Average real GDP growth under Democratic Presidents: +4%
  • Average real GDP growth under Republican Presidents: +2.63%

BUSINESS INVESTMENT GROWTH

Real business investment growth under Democratic Presidents has been 165% higher than under Republican Presidents.

  • Average growth under Democratic Presidents: +6.3%
  • Average growth under Republican Presidents: +2.76%

FEDERAL BUDGET DEFICITS

Federal budget deficits under Republican Presidents are 100% higher than under Democratic Presidents (as a percentage of GDP, Republican Presidents have been 90% higher than Democratic Presidents).

  • Total Democratic Budget Deficit: $3,887.6 billion
  • Total Republican Budget Deficit: $7,807.2 billion
  • Average deficit under Democratic Presidents: 2.1% of GDP
  • Average deficit under Republican Presidents: 3.98% of GDP

UNEMPLOYMENT

Unemployment under Republican Presidents has been 23% higher than under Democratic Presidents.

  • Average unemployment under Democratic Presidents: 5.06%
  • Average unemployment under Republican Presidents: 6.23%

GROWTH IN SPENDING

Federal Spending has increased twice as fast under Republican Presidents than under Democratic Presidents

  • Democratic Presidents' annual spending increased by an average of $35.3 billion per year
  • Republican Presidents' annual spending increased by an average of $70 billion per year

BALANCE OF TRADE

Trade deficits under Republican Presidents have been 116% higher than under Democratic Presidents.

  • Total trade deficit under Democratic Administrations (in millions): $2,695,994
  • Total trade deficit under Republican Administrations (in millions): $5,828,385

STOCK MARKET

The Stock Market under Democratic Presidents has grown 200% faster under Democratic Presidents than under Republican Presidents.

  • Average yearly growth in Stock Market returns under Democratic Presidents: +1.92%
  • Average yearly growth in Stock Market returns under Republican Presidents: +0.64%
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/03/23/business/among-the-best-presidents-or-the-worst-in-economic-terms.html

For more detailed information and specific sources, click on the topics above. You can download the full document here. Footnotes for all documents can be downloaded here.

Most Sources from: Statistical Abstract of the United States; 1992-2011 Economic Reports of the President, Congressional Budget Office, Bureau of Labor Statistics, all data since World War II.