In January, they added 517,000 jobs — almost twice as many as in December — while the unemployment rate fell to its lowest mark since 1969.
Speaking in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Friday, the president took a victory lap, declaring the “state of the economy is strong.” His annual appearance before a joint session of Congress is almost certain to include an assertion that the economic rebound is no accident; it’s the result of administration policies, including the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and work to smooth snarled supply chains.
This Biden boom certainly is confounding skeptics who have been predicting for months that the Fed’s anti-inflation campaign would trigger an imminent recession. But the economy’s unexpected performance also is testing the ability of policymakers to keep the recovery going.
