More jobs? Booming economy? Fact-checking Trump's claims from State of the Union address

Yesterday, during the State of the Union address, Donald Trump made multiple claims about the booming economy, decreased unemployment, increased inequality. Here, we fact check all his claims!

Trump claimed that more than seven million jobs have been added to the US economy since he became the president.

As part of his ''Great American comeback'' plan, Trump is outlining how he has not only improved the economy, but also revitalised it.

"My fellow citizens: three years ago, we launched the great American comeback. Tonight, I stand before you to share the incredible results. Jobs are booming; incomes are soaring; poverty is plummeting; crime is falling; confidence is surging, and our country is thriving and highly respected again'', Trump had announced during his speech.

Have jobs really been added?
As per data, the United States had been experiencing steady growth in jobs and income years before Trump came to power.

In fact, 35 months before he took office, the economy added eight million jobs.

And 35 months since Trump took office, only 6.7 million new jobs have been created, FactCheck reported.

Based on this data, it seems like job growth has declined instead of improving.

If figures are to believed, the unemployment rate was down to 4.7 per cent by the time he took office. This is well below the historical norm of 5.6 per cent which has remained the median monthly rate in the US, every month since 1948.

In essence, it seems like Trump may be taking credit for a boom that began under the Obama administration.

Is the economy booming?
Recently, the US president claimed that the economy is the best it has ever been.

However, as per the recent official estimate, the American GDP grew by 2.3 per cent last year, compared to 2.9 per cent growth in 2018. The figure was the same in 2015, which was long before Trump's tenure began.

Even then, it's a lot lesser compared to previous administrations. In 2004, the rate was 3.8 per cent while in 2005 it was 3.5 per cent.

In fact, for the year 2020, economists predict that the US GDP will grow only by 1.9 per cent.

Have the wages increased?
Trump also claimed that Americans are earning higher wages. However, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, Trump's claims that wages in the US are rising quickly after decades of falling income is false.

In fact, during Obama's last four years in office, average weekly earnings went up by 4.9 per cent.

When Bush Junior was in power, the weekly earnings increased by 4.2 per cent.

With Trump in office, the wages have gone up only by 2.6 per cent.

The data has been compiled from several economic surveys and statistics released by US government agencies.