Labor Day 2018

If there was ever a Labor Day to celebrate it is this one.

156 million Americans are employed. The most ever.

GDP grew at 4.2% last quarter.

The stock market is near all-time highs

The number of those working full time has increased by 5 million since January alone. This is almost unimaginable. Look at this chart that shows that full-time job growth since last July.

Monthly Number of Full-Time Employees in the U.S. (July 2017-July 2018)
(in millions, unadjusted)
Credit: Statista.com

The unemployment rate is 3.9%. We generally have not seen unemployment this low in half a
century.

Black unemployment is at all-time lows.

Hispanic unemployment is at all-time lows.

High school dropouts are even seeing all-time low unemployment lows.

327,000 new manufacturing jobs were added in the last year. That is the largest amount in 23 years.

There is also distinct difference in the jobs that are growing the most under Trump compared to what they were in the last year or so under Obama.

The chart below tells the tale. Mining, manufacturing and oil and gas extraction have all seen a resurgence under Trump.

Is that just luck? Or does a lot have to do with less regulation, tougher trade stances and low business taxes?

Obama supporters are trying to argue that all of this good economic news is due to the policies of the past eight years. Look at this chart and try to make that argument with a straight face.

Credit: Qz.com using BLS data

Remember when Barack Obama told workers in many of these industries that these jobs were never coming back?

The Obama administration also consistently argued that sustained economic growth beyond 3% was a thing of the past. We were told that our expectations had to be lowered to a new reality. Perhaps that was because there was not one year in Obama's eight years that GDP grew at least 3%.

On this Labor Day let's consider our blessings that so many in the United States are productive, working members of society.

Make no mistake. The cycles of economic activity are still with us. These good times will surely be followed by some tough times. Donald Trump cannot reverse the cyclical nature of man and his universe. No man can. However, all of this should show that the right policies and incentives do make a difference.

Thank you, one and all, for your labor. Enjoy your day.