Which President Created the Most Jobs?

Bill Clinton (1993-2001): 18.6 million

President Clinton added 18.6 million jobs. He was the top job creator in terms of total numbers, but the third-largest percentage increase with a 15.6% increase. There were 119 million employed at the beginning of his term and 137.6 million people employed by the end of his term in December 2000.

Unlike most presidents, he did this through contractionary fiscal policy. He presided over eight years of steady economic growth. He created a $128 billion budget surplus in his final year as president, making him the more recent president to do so. His Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 raised the top tax rate from 28% to 39.6% for high-income earners. He increased the top corporate tax rate from 34% to 35%.

At the same time, President Clinton cut welfare spending. Recipients had to get jobs after two years. His policies helped reduce the number of people on welfare. Between August 1996 and March 2003, the number of welfare recipients fell by 59%, from 12.2 million to 4.96 million people.

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989): 16.5 million

President Reagan added 16.5 million jobs during his eight-year term, a 16.6% increase. Reagan added the second-largest number of total jobs, which was also the second-highest percent increase. There were 116.1 million people working in December 1988 compared to 99.6 million in December 1980.

Reagan responded to the 1981 recession with Reaganomics—an expansive fiscal policy based on supply-side economics. Reagan cut the top income tax rate from 70% to 28%. He also cut the top corporate tax rate from 46% to 34%. His policies more than doubled the debt from 1980 to 1989.

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945): 15 million

President Roosevelt increased jobs by 38.5%, the largest percentage increase of all presidents. He added 15 million workers to the 38.9 million who were working at the start of his term. That made him the fourth largest job creator in sheer numbers. This job growth was after he created the New Deal to end the Great Depression. FDR also built up the economy to enter World War II.

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981): 9.8 million

President Jimmy Carter added 9.8 million jobs, a 10.9% increase. He did that by adding $299 billion to the $698.8 billion national debt, an almost 43% increase.

Richard Nixon (1969-1974): 9.4 million

President Nixon added 9.4 million jobs to the 76.7 million workers at the end of the Johnson administration. That's a 12.2% increase.

He initially presided over a growing economy. Americans celebrated by importing more goods. As they paid in dollars, foreigners started redeeming them for gold. In 1973, Nixon ended the gold standard entirely. Gold prices rose to nearly $60 an ounce by mid-1972 and $90 an ounce by early 1973. No longer tethered to the price of gold, the value of the dollar plummeted, triggering inflation.

Nixon won re-election in 1972. But his actions led to the 1973-1975 recession coupled with double-digit inflation.

Barack Obama (2009-2017): 8.9 million

President Obama created 8.9 million jobs by the end of December 2016, a 6.1% increase over the work force he took over after the end of the Bush administration.

But that doesn't give the total picture. The economy lost 8.7 million jobs as a result of the Great Recession, which took place from late-2007 through mid-2009. From June 2009 to December 2016, Obama created 12.2 million jobs, an 8.7% increase. 

Obama attacked the Great Recession with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It created jobs through public works. Many of those jobs were in construction. That successfully reduced the unemployment rate. But that meant Obama increased the debt by $8.6 trillion, a 72.3% increase.

Job creation would have been stronger during Obama's term if Congress hadn't passed sequestration. In his last FOMC meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke noted that these austerity measures forced the government to shed 700,000 jobs in four years. In the prior recovery from the 2001 recession, the economy added 600,000 jobs during the same period. ​  

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969): 8.6 million

President Johnson added 8.6 million jobs to 68.2 million employed in December 1963; that's a 12.6% increase.

LBJ spent on social programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the War on Poverty. That increased the debt by 15.6%. By the time he left office, the economy was growing a robust 4.9% but inflation rose to 4.4%.

Harry Truman (1945-1953): 7 million

President Truman added almost 7 million jobs. The 13% increase was the fourth-largest among modern presidents.

Despite fighting World War II and starting the Korean War, Truman only increased the national debt by 1.5%.

George W. Bush (2001-2009): 5.7 million

President Bush created 5.7 million jobs, a 4.2% increase. He struggled with two recessions. He lost 3 million jobs in 2008, his last year in office. 

The job gains occurred before that, as he recovered from the 2001 recession. He responded to it with stimulus checks and the Bush tax cuts. He was helped by low-interest rates from the Fed's expansive monetary policy.

Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961): 4.8 million

President Eisenhower added 4.8 million jobs, a 7.9% increase. He increased the debt by 8.6%, or $22.9 billion as he fought two recessions. The end of the Korean War caused the 1953 recession, and higher interest rates caused the 1957 recession. 

Part of Eisenhower's success with job creation was due to his creation of the Interstate Highway System. He spent $25 billion to build 41,000 miles of road.