The Unemployment Rate: St. Ronnie vs. Obama
In the 81-83 Recession, Unemployment reached a high of 10.8% in November of 1982 and remained at that rate in December of '82. In all the Unemployment rate remained over 10% for ten months from September of 1982 thru June of 1983. By this time in 1984 it was 7.4% down 3.4 points. At the time of the November, 1984 election unemployment was 7.1%
Under Obama Unemployment reached a high of 10.6% in January of 2010, and remained in double digits for three months. Since that time the Unemployment rate, as of May of 2012 is 8.1%, which means it has dropped a full 2.5 points during the Obama Recovery. It is conceivable that by November that unemployment could be under 8%--and near 7.5% if conditions improve.
The 83-84 'recovery' was stronger than the current recovery but considering that Obama inherited an economy on the brink of depression--and what most economists have called the worst 'recession' since the Great Depression, Obama's accomplishment is actually pretty impressive.