In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper reviews a White House talking point about the increase in the number of women employees on the president’s watch.
During a women’s event at the White House earlier this month, President Donald Trump said he is “very proud” that “on my watch” there are “more women in the workforce today than ever before.” Similarly, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway boasted that “over a half a million new women entered the workforce on his watch.”
As we wrote, it’s true that 863,000 women joined the workforce during the president’s first 11 months in office, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But that’s 34 percent less than the number of women workers that were added over the same period, from January to December, in each of the last two years.
In fact, it’s the smallest increase since 2012 and below the historical norm for the past 54 years, dating to 1964.
As for the number of women employees, there were nearly 73 million women workers as of December — which is indeed “more women in the workforce than ever before,” as Trump said. But, as the U.S. population grows, that statement can be made almost every year.
FactCheck.org and Tapper have been collaborating on fact-checking videos since September 2015. All of the videos can be found on FactCheck.org.