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Presidents › George H. W. Bush

The economy under George H. W. Bush

20 official measures, each from the first month in office (1989) to month 48, ranked against every other administration at the same point.

MeasureMonth 1Latest / month 48ChangeRank at that pointSource
GDP Growth4.1%4.2% (m48)+0.1 pts#4 of 9Bureau of Economic Analysis
Real GDP$9.8T$10.6T (m48)+8.1%#7 of 9Bureau of Economic Analysis
Unemployment Rate5.4%7.4% (m48)+2.0 pts#8 of 9Bureau of Labor Statistics
Labor Force Participation66.5%66.3% (m48)−0.2 pts#2 of 9Bureau of Labor Statistics
Jobs Added per Month263K219K (m48)−16.7%#4 of 9Bureau of Labor Statistics
Manufacturing Jobs18.1M16.8M (m48)−7.1%#8 of 9Bureau of Labor Statistics
Inflation (CPI)4.5%3.0% (m48)−1.5 pts#4 of 9Bureau of Labor Statistics
Core Inflation4.6%3.4% (m48)−1.2 pts#7 of 9Bureau of Labor Statistics
Real Wages−1.8%−0.3% (m48)+1.5 pts#6 of 8Bureau of Labor Statistics
Purchasing Power of the Dollar$29.46$25.09 (m48)−14.8%#5 of 9Bureau of Labor Statistics
Federal Funds Rate9.1%2.9% (m48)−6.2 pts#4 of 9Federal Reserve
Debt-to-GDP49.7%62.5% (m48)+12.8 pts#5 of 9U.S. Treasury and OMB
30-Year Mortgage Rate10.8%8.3% (m48)−2.5 pts#7 of 9Freddie Mac
Housing Starts1,621K1,227K (m48)−24.3%#8 of 9Census Bureau
Personal Saving Rate8.5%10.5% (m48)+2.0 pts#6 of 9Bureau of Economic Analysis
Consumer Sentiment97.991.0 (m48)−7.0%#4 of 9University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers
10-Year Treasury Yield9.1%6.8% (m48)−2.3 pts#7 of 9Federal Reserve
5-Year Treasury Yield9.2%6.1% (m48)−3.1 pts#6 of 9Federal Reserve
Yield Curve (10Y–2Y)−0.09 pts2.10 pts (m48)+2.2 pts#1 of 8Federal Reserve
Federal Budget Balance−$155B−$327B (m48)−111.0%#3 of 7U.S. Treasury

Other presidents: Richard Nixon · Jimmy Carter · Ronald Reagan · Bill Clinton · George W. Bush · Barack Obama · Donald Trump (first term) · Joe Biden · Donald Trump (second term)