As someone whose background is in the labor movement, I'm proud of the Clinton Administration's reinvention of government, just as I'm proud of its record on jobs and the economy. In North Africa, they have a saying, The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on. The President set a bold new economic course, and it has had real, tangible benefits for virtually every American. We learned recently that the economy grew at a 3.6 percent annual rate in the most recent quarter of this year, even as inflation remained low. Our economy continues to combine record growth, strong investment, and low inflation.
Lets look at the figures in more detail.
The August unemployment rate was at 4.9 percent, its 36th consecutive month below 6 percent and as low as it has been since 1973. The combined rate of unemployment and inflation is 8.7 percent, the lowest since Lyndon Johnson was president, thirty years ago. Inflation is at 2.8 percent a year, the lowest since the Kennedy Administration. During the Clinton Administration, the economy has added 12.9 million new jobs, including 2.5 million in the past year. And 92 percent of those new jobs have been in the private sector, the highest percentage since the Truman Administration.