The Biden administration is defending its economic track record as financial markets get hit by turmoil driven by concerns about the Federal Reserve’s plans to fight high inflation.
“We always focus on the trends in the economy, not any one day and not any single indicator, and the President’s economic team is actively monitoring developments,” a White House official told CNN on Monday. “And unlike his predecessor, President Biden does not look at the stock market as a means by which to judge the economy.”
The comments come as the Dow (INDU) plunged as much as 1,100 points Monday and dropped for a seventh day in a row. The market turmoil has been fueled in large part by concerns about the Fed’s planned interest rate hikes to cool off elevated inflation as well as rising concern about tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
The White House official noted that while the stock market is up around 15% since President Biden took office, the administration’s focus is on how working families are doing and whether they have a job that delivers a paycheck and dignity.
“By this measure, we have made real progress. We have historically strong jobs and economic growth, and the strength of that recovery, coupled with the tools we have to battle the pandemic, mean we are in an entirely different position than a year ago,” the official said, noting that a year ago 800,000 Americans were filing for first-time jobless claims each week and the unemployment rate has dropped sharply to 3.9%.
