productivity is above 5%. so that means that the inflation rate, combined with wage growth, there is some room for workers to keep doing better without having inflationary pressure. again, that is very core to the presidents message and his economic agenda, that we don t have to sacrifice work or well-being when we strengthen the economy. in fact, those two things actually go hand in hand. and we saw that throughout the year. not just in terms of jobs numbers we talk about, but also in terms of the record gains that workers made at the bargaining table. the broad base jobs creation across multiple industries. and again, we are still just getting started. 2024 is going to be a big year for those historic investments to actually hit the ground, to have projects actually beginning, and to have even more jobs across construction, manufacturing, clean energy, and other industries that were really focused on growing here in america. i do want to ask you about
is there anything in it that is concerning you? hi, breonna. it s great to be here. this is, as you said, a strong, it s a very stable jobs report. 216,000 jobs in december, making the average overall 2023 to hundred 25,000 jobs. that is higher than at any point in any single year in the prior administration, and it is a sign that that coveted soft landing, we ve reached it. we had theories of recovery from the pandemic, and now we ve had a strong solid 2023. these things don t happen by accident. they happen because of strong leadership, they have been because of economic policies, and they happen because president biden has been very clear that we re going to build an economy where we do right by workers. that s how to make things better, that s how to make things stronger. we can keep unemployment rate low while we increase low wages,
has employers adding 216,000 jobs in december, outpacing analysts expectations by more than 50,000. biden saying it showed 2023 was a great year for american workers. the unemployment rate remaining at 3.7%. treasury secretary janet yellen highlighting that it s rare for jobs to stay robust while inflation is going down. we have 23 months in a row unemployment under 40%. haven t seen that in 50 years. so, the soft landing, did it happen? what we re seeing now, i think we can describe as a soft landing. and my hope is that it will continue. wall street, though, has been waffling a bit on how to react here, because it signals the fed could wait to drop interest rates with such high jobs numbers. joining us now, we have acting labor secretary julie su. secretary, thank you so much for taking some time to be with us. what is the most promising thing in the jobs report, and
this really is the beginning of the campaign really starting to ramp up. we will see president biden on monday in south carolina, he is going to be speaking at mother a manual church. this, of course, is where we saw the mass shooting where nine black worshippers were killed in that shooting. this will mark the president returning to a state that the biden white house believes sent him to the white house. returning to voters, black voters in particular, that the biden campaign talks about as having also sent him to the white house. so in so many different ways, this afternoon will be very heavy of political symbolism, and again, will really mark the beginning of what we will see to come in the coming year, as the biden campaign really prepares to take on donald trump. mj lee, live from the white house, thank you very much. meanwhile, as a positive new jobs report came in today, the president is hoping he can tout an improving economy in his reelection bid. the last jobs report of 2
aggressive push by his campaign to frame 2024 as another opportunity for voters to protect the constitution from the threats of a second trump turn. the where he calls in his biggest ally to help with his message. our democracy depends on you. it really does, folks. that s no joke. that s why we need you. we need your help to ensure joe s leadership continues to guide us forward. donald trump s camp is also eyeing that 2020 rematch, even though the republican primary hasn t even started yet. with ten days until the iowa caucuses, trump is contrasting his economic platform with bidens in a new ad, as biden s economic message struggles to resonate with americans. that s despite another batch of strong jobs numbers today. we re actually going to speak to the acting labor secretary about those numbers, and whether this will bolster the case for biden onyx. but first, let s get you to the