On Friday, President Joe Biden offered praise for the August monthly jobs report, despite the U.S. economy missing expectations after two months of robust hiring, but blamed the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus for lower-than-expected figures.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. economy added 235,000 jobs in August, and the unemployment rate dropped from 5.4% in July to 5.2%, the lowest it has been in 18 months

  • President Joe Biden said that the U.S. is seeing "an economic recovery that is durable and strong," but blamed the delta variant for lower-than-expected jobs figures

  • Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, in an interview with Spectrum News, agreed with Biden's assessment, saying that he thinks "the delta variant had more to do with it than we quite honestly realized"

  • Biden called for the House and Senate to pass the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better act to ensure "long-term prosperity" for the economy

The U.S. economy added 235,000 jobs in August, and the unemployment rate dropped from 5.4% in July to 5.2% this month, the lowest it has been in 18 months.

"What we’re seeing is an economic recovery that is durable and strong,” the president said at the White House. “The Biden plan is working. We’re getting results. America is on the move again.”

The president noted that, with the revision of July’s numbers, in the past three months, the U.S. has added an average of 750,000 jobs per month, compared to 60,000 jobs per month in the three months before he entered the White House.

But, the president acknowledged, “we have a lot more work to do” in terms of economic recovery.

"While I know some wanted to see a larger number today, and so did I, what we've seen this year is continued growth, month after month in job creation,” Biden said. 

Biden touted the fact that he’s added more jobs than any president in their first year, as well as the fact that “we’ve added jobs in every single one of my first seven job reports” and wages are increasing.

The president said that this kind of growth — continually adding jobs, though some months have greater jobs figures and some have fewer — “makes our economy stronger, and consistent progress, and not boom or bust,” noting the economy grew in the first half of 2021 at the fastest rate in roughly 40 years.

Biden said that in order to keep growing the economy, the U.S. needs to make more progress in fighting the delta variant, once again calling COVID-19 a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

“There’s no question” that the delta variant is behind the lower numbers in the August job report, Biden said, adding that he will lay out next week more details of how his administration will fight the highly contagious coronavirus strain.

“Still too many have not gotten vaccinated and it is creating a lot of unease in our economy and around our kitchen tables,” the president said.

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, in an interview with Spectrum News, agreed with the president’s assessment: “I think the delta variant had more to do with it than we quite honestly realized.”

Joking with reporters that “every week is infrastructure week,” Biden said that passing the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill — which will fund building roads and bridges, expand electric vehicle infrastructure, expanding broadband access and improving energy and water systems — will help bolster America’s economy and create millions of jobs.

Biden also called for the House and Senate to pass the $3.5 budget bill, now known as the Build Back Better Act, which includes a number of the president’s domestic priorities, including funding for paid family leave, free education programs and combatting climate change.

Biden said both plans are essential to ensure "long-term prosperity" for the economy.

"Our country needs these investments," Biden said. "Now we need Congress to finish the job, to come through for the American people and ensure that the economy continues to get strength and stability as we move forward."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed with the president's sentiments in an earlier statement on the jobs report, calling it "further evidence of the need to Build Back Better for our economy."

"As the delta variant continues, decisive action is needed to ensure that the economic gains forged under President Biden – including four million jobs created – are sustained and shared by all," the California Democrat wrote.

"We must Build Back Better so more women and parents can participate fully in our economy – including through historic investments in child care, paid family leave, free universal pre-school and home-based care," Pelosi continued. "The Build Back Better Act will be transformational for families: cutting costs for child care, health care and prescription drugs, education and other priorities for families, delivering one of the largest tax cuts ever for workers and families and creating millions of good-paying jobs."