Today, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics released the monthly Jobs Report which shows the unemployment rate has dropped to 3.4% with more than a half million jobs created in January and 800,000 manufacturing jobs created in the last two years.

“President Biden’s economic plan is working,” said Commerce Secretary Raimondo. “When President Biden took office, the unemployment rate was 6.3%. Today, it is just 3.4%. That’s the lowest in 54 years.”

Also last month, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at 2.9% for the last quarter of 2022 and that real wages were higher last month than they were seven months ago.

“Last quarter, we experienced strong growth in GDP, consumer spending, and disposable income,” said Raimondo. “We have more work to do, but we’re building a strong economy that works for all Americans.”

In addition, there was near record low unemployment among the Black population (5.4%) and Hispanic population (4.5%). Job growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care. Employment also increased in government, partially reflecting the return of workers from a strike.

“Let’s not forget where we were when the President took office – the economy was in crisis,” said Raimondo. “Now, we’ve achieved record job creation, record low unemployment, and a record number of small business applications. America is on the move once again.”