page_title: Economic policy of Donald Trump administration
section_title: 2020-
hierarchical_section_title: Economic policy of Donald Trump administration / Overview / 2020-
caption_attribution_description: English: Job growth by U.S. President, measured as cumulative percentage change from month after inauguration to end of term.
context_page_description: The economic policy of the Donald Trump administration is characterized by individual and corporate tax cuts, attempts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, trade protectionism, immigration restriction, deregulation focused on the energy and financial sectors, and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  A key part of President Trump's economic strategy during his first three years was to boost economic growth via tax cuts and additional spending, both of which significantly increased federal budget deficits. The positive economic situation he inherited from President Obama continued, with a labor market approaching full employment and measures of household income and wealth continuing to improve further into record territory. President Trump also implemented trade protectionism via tariffs, primarily on imports from China, as part of his "America First" strategy. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the number of Americans without health insurance increased under Trump, while his tax cuts were projected to worsen income inequality.
context_section_description: The 128-month (10.7 year) record economic expansion that began in June 2009 abruptly ended at a peak in February 2020, with the U.S. entering a recession. Pandemic concerns and mitigation measures resulted in over 40 million people filing for unemployment insurance the weeks of March 21-May 28. The number of unemployed persons jumped from 7.1 million in March 2020 to 23.1 million in April 2020, with the unemployment rate rising from 4.4% to 14.7%. The wider measure of unemployment (U-6) which includes those unemployed but not actively looking for work and those working part time for economic reasons, increased from 8.7% to 22.8%.
  Trump signed the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) on March 27, which funded increased unemployment insurance amounts and duration, loans and grants to businesses, and funding for state governments.
  The CBO forecast in April 2020 that the budget deficit in fiscal year 2020 would be $3.7 trillion (17.9% GDP), versus the January estimate of $1 trillion (4.6% GDP). The CBO also reported in May 2020 that:
  The unemployment rate increased from 3.5% in February to 14.7% in April, representing a decline of more than 25 million people employed, plus another 8 million persons that exited the labor force.
  Job declines were focused on industries that rely on "in-person interactions" such as retail, education, health services, leisure and hospitality. For example, 8 of the 17 million leisure and hospitality jobs were lost in March and April.
  The economic impact was expected to hit smaller and newer businesses harder, as they typically have less financial cushion.
  Real (inflation-adjusted) consumer spending fell 17% from February to April, as social distancing reached its peak. In April, car and light truck sales were 49% below the late 2019 monthly average. Mortgage applications fell 30% in April 2020 versus April 2019.
  Real GDP was forecast to fall at a nearly 38% annual rate in the second quarter, or 11.2% versus the prior quarter, with a return to positive quarter-to-quarter growth of 5.0% in Q3 and 2.5% in Q4 2020. However, real GDP was not expected to regain its Q4 2019 level until 2022 or later.
  The unemployment rate was forecast to average 11.5% in 2020 and 9.3% in 2021.
  The New York Times reported that the economy (real GDP) contracted by a record 9.5% in Q2 2020 (32.6% annualized), which reduced the overall size of the economy to early 2015 levels. This was twice as large a decline as the Great Recession. This was attributed to failure to control the coronavirus. However, government efforts at financial support (the $2 trillion CARES Act) were largely successful in helping about 30 million people receiving unemployment benefits as of late July.
caption: Job Growth by U.S. President, measured as cumulative percentage change from month after inauguration to end of term.
exif: {}