Just 3 in 10 voters know the U.S. created more jobs than it lost last year

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Here’s a stunning fact: President Joe Biden created more jobs during his first year in office than any other president on record, and yet only 3 in 10 registered voters correctly believe the U.S. gained jobs in 2021.

In fact, the U.S. economy added about 6.6 million jobs in Biden’s first year. But according to new polling from the progressive consortium Navigator Research, while 30% of voters said the U.S. gained jobs, 17% said it lost as many jobs as it gained, 24% weren’t sure, and 29% said the country lost jobs. In other words, 70% of voters either got it wrong or didn’t know.

At the same time, Biden is 15 points underwater on his handling of the economy at 41% approve, 56% disapprove. The president’s overall job approval is 6 points underwater at 46% approve, 52% disapprove in the survey.

Inflation remains a dominant concern for voters based on focus groups GBAO conducted in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Nevada. More people report hearing about negative economic news than positive news, and many in the focus groups see positive economic indicators as being at odds with their personal experiences, according to the report.

Listen to Jennifer Fernandez Ancona from Way to Win explain how Democrats must message to win on Daily Kos’ The Brief podcast with Markos Moulitsas and Kerry Eleveld

If there’s good news, it’s that voters generally feel positive about the president’s handling of the pandemic, with 52% approving and 45% disapproving of it.

Americans are also generally feeling optimistic about the state of the pandemic, with a bare majority of 51% for the first time agreeing the pandemic is “over for me” while 45% say it’s still impacting their lives in significant ways. Of the sample, 57% of voters also believe the worst of the pandemic is over—a trend that has been ticking up for the last several weeks—while just 25% say the worst is yet to come.

So while voters are generally feeling better about the pandemic and approve of Biden’s efforts to get it under control, they are either not impressed or unaware of the enormous comeback the economy has made under the president’s stewardship.