The monthly unemployment rates during President Reagan's first year in office:
January 1981 - 7.5%
February 1981 - 7.4%
March 1981 - 7.4%
April 1981 - 7.2%
May 1981 - 7.5%
June 1981 - 7.5%
July 1981 - 7.2%
August 1981 - 7.4%
September 1981 - 7.6%
October 1981 - 7.9%
November 1981 - 8.3%
December 1981 - 8.5%
The unemployment rates during President Reagan's second year in office:
January 1982 - 8.6%
February 1982 - 8.9%
March 1982 - 9%
April 1982 - 9.3%
May 1982 - 9.4%
June 1982 - 9.6%
July 1982 - 9.8%
August 1982 - 9.8%
September 1982 - 10.1%
October 1982 - 10.4%
November 1982 - 10.8%
December 1982 - 10.8%
The unemployment rate during President Reagan's third year in office:
January 1983 - 10.4%
February 1983 - 10.4%
March 1983 - 10.3%
April 1983 - 10.2%
May 1983 - 10.1%
June 1983 - 10.1%
July 1983 - 9.4%
August 1983 - 9.5%
September 1983 - 9.2%
October 1983 - 8.8%
November 1983 - 8.5%
December 1983 - 8.3%
And the unemployment rates during President Reagan's fourth year in office, up to the time of his re-election:
January 1984 - 8%
February 1984 - 7.8%
March 1984 - 7.8%
April 1984 - 7.7%
May 1984 - 7.4%
June 1984 - 7.2%
July 1984 - 7.5%
August 1984 - 7.5%
September 1984 - 7.3%
October 1984 - 7.4%
November 1984 - 7.2%
Each recession is its own animal, but you can't deny the parallels between the recession of the early 80s and the current Great Recession. Each were "the worst since the Great Depression," with an economy that was hemorrhaging millions of jobs, and a president trying their best to right the ship of state following their predecessor's incompetence. Several key industries, including housing, manufacturing, and automobile production, experienced a downturn from which they did not recover until several years later. Bank deregulation phased out a number of restrictions on banks' financial practices, broadening their lending powers, and prompting them to rush into shady real estate lending, speculative lending, and other risky ventures. In both recessions the result was in an increase in the number of bank failures.
But just look at those unemployment numbers under Reagan. Not once did that rate ever dip below 7.2%. Keep in mind that most economists consider the nation's labor force "fully employed" when the rate is around 5.0% to 5.5%. That said, one has to wonder: Now that the recession is officially over, are the predictions by economists that job growth will be very slow correct? Will the unemployment rate remain above 7.0% through 2012? And if so, will American voters give President Obama credit if it is at 7.2% and trending downward on Election Day?
But just look at those unemployment numbers under Reagan. Not once did that rate ever dip below 7.2%. Keep in mind that most economists consider the nation's labor force "fully employed" when the rate is around 5.0% to 5.5%. That said, one has to wonder: Now that the recession is officially over, are the predictions by economists that job growth will be very slow correct? Will the unemployment rate remain above 7.0% through 2012? And if so, will American voters give President Obama credit if it is at 7.2% and trending downward on Election Day?
