Joe Biden says pay rise, jobs under his govt keeping Americans ‘better off’ despite inflation

President Joe Biden said that some Americans are “better off” due to pay raises and strong employment growth under his administration, even with high inflation eroding their purchasing power.

“We’ve created over 600,000 to 700,000 manufacturing jobs. Things are moving,” Biden said. Referring to a government report Thursday showing stronger than expected growth in US economic output in the third quarter, Biden cited “people who are now in a position where the combination of pay raises and job security” had left them “better off, even with inflation, than they were before it.”

“And inflation is coming down,” he added.

Inflation has been at or near 40-year highs and has dragged down President Joe Biden’s approval ratings and threatened Democrats’ chances of retaining their thin congressional majorities in November’s midterm elections. Polls show that the economy remains the most important issue for voters ahead of Nov. 8 midterm elections, and Biden has tried to focus on his administration’s economic accomplishments this week, promoting job growth, factory openings and infrastructure construction.

Spike in inflation is increasing household expenses, eating into wage gains and heaping pressure on President Joe Biden as supply chains remained squeezed by shortages of workers and raw materials, magnifying price pressures.

Bloomberg Economics last week raised the odds of a US recession in the next 12 months to 100 percent, as the Federal Reserve continues to hike interest rates to combat persistent inflation.