The Trump Economy: A Mixed Bag of Facts and Figures
As President Donald Trump touts his economic accomplishments on social media and at rallies, voters are left wondering if the numbers add up. Ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, the economy and the high cost of living are top concerns for many Americans.
Job Growth: A Record, But Not the Whole Story
Trump claims that more Americans are working in the United States than at any point in the country’s history. And it’s true – the economy has added jobs in 65 of the last 80 years. In June, the United States had nearly 159 million jobs, a record. However, job growth has slowed considerably in Trump’s second term. Last year, companies added just 9,700 jobs a month, the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002. This year, they’ve created 92,000 jobs a month, which is better but still unimpressive by historical standards.
The Stock Market: A Rally, But Not a Boom
Trump boasts that the stock market has set 74 all-time highs since his return to the White House. The S&P 500, an index for the biggest public companies in the U.S., has hit a new record 64 times since January 2025. The rally is driven by a surge in profits for companies in the S&P 500, but promises about a coming deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the value of artificial-intelligence technology have contributed to market volatility.
Manufacturing: A Boom, But Not in Jobs
U.S. factories have pulled out of a long slump in the past few months, but they aren’t creating many jobs. The Institute for Supply Management’s survey showed that U.S. manufacturing activity had expanded for seven months and hit the highest level since May 2022. However, an uptick in production has not translated into a manufacturing hiring boom. In fact, the United States had 95,000 fewer factory jobs in June than it did before Trump returned to the White House.
Exports: A Mixed Picture
Trump claims that exports have skyrocketed to the highest level in American history. Seasonally-adjusted exports of U.S. goods hit an all-time monthly high of over $221.8 billion in April, but there’s been a decline since. In June, America’s seasonally-adjusted exports of goods amounted to about $206.9 billion. While exports are higher at the midpoint of 2026 than they were at this time last year, the value of goods the U.S. imports continues to far surpass how much the country sends abroad.
Investment: A Questionable Claim
Trump claims that trillions of dollars of new investment are pouring into the United States. However, the numbers seem implausible. Total private investment in the United States was running at an annual pace of $5.7 trillion from April through July this year. Foreign direct investment in the United States increased last year by $266 billion, but this is not the same as the $18 trillion or $10.7 trillion that Trump has claimed.
As voters head to the polls, it’s clear that the economy is a complex issue with many factors at play. While Trump’s claims about the economy may be true in some cases, they don’t tell the whole story. The numbers are mixed, and the picture is not as rosy as Trump would have us believe.