Kamala Harris’ comments on Trump-era economy fact-checked with labor statistics

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During an interview with MSNBC, Vice President Kamala Harris made several claims about the U.S. economy during former President Donald Trump's administration. Harris criticized the economic performance under Trump, citing high unemployment and manufacturing job losses, and comparing it to the Great Depression. However, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics contradicts several of her statements.

Harris claimed that Trump left behind the worst economy since the Great Depression, particularly citing employment numbers. In reality, unemployment rates before the pandemic showed a different trend. In February 2017, Trump's first full month in office, the unemployment rate was 4.6%, which dropped to 3.5% by February 2020, the last month before the pandemic. The increase in unemployment afterward was largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered nationwide shutdowns.

Additionally, Harris alleged a significant decline in manufacturing jobs during Trump’s presidency. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that from December 2016 to February 2020, manufacturing jobs actually grew from 12.35 million to 12.78 million, until the pandemic disrupted the industry.

Harris also mentioned job losses in the automotive manufacturing sector. Although there were fluctuations in this sector, automotive manufacturing jobs grew by over 3.5% from 2016 to 2020, reaching a peak of 1.0125 million jobs in January 2019 before declining slightly just before the pandemic.