The Reagan Information Page:Job Creation

One of the strongest features of the Reagan expansion was the job creation numbers. Almost 20 million jobs were created in just seven years. And contrary to popular mythology, most of those jobs paid at least $10/hour. Part of that myth is that service sector jobs equal low paying jobs. However, that is not the case, as even critics of Reagan are now admitting. In fact, the overall job statistics show the Reagan expansion to be one of the best ever.

The job creation during the Reagan expansion was broad-based, spanning all sectors and providing good wages throughout the expansion. And while wages rarely keep up with inflation, during the Reagan expansion wages and inflation were very closely matched.

One of the myths of the 1980s is that service sector jobs are all low paying jobs. However, as you have seen above, that is not the case. Service sector jobs include such professions as software engineers, lawyers, real estate agents, sales professionals, etc. all of whom have good wage rates. The popular image of the burger flipper or harried cashier is largely a product of the liberals and the compliant media. Such jobs are less than 10% of the total service sector. To see for yourself, pick up a good almanac or the Statistical Abstract of the United States, which breaks down the jobs by category.

Finally, you can view the actual unemployment rates during the 1980s.

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Job Creation 1982-9