Unemployment claims in the United States remain at historic lows with figures not seen since 1969, when the country's population was 140 million less. The data was released by the Department of Labor this Thursday and reinforces the idea that the economy under President Donald Trump is on the right track.
In the week ending September 26, a total of 197,000 unemployment claims were recorded, representing a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week. The four-week average fell to 200,000, down from 202,500.
The last time the country saw figures like this was 57 years ago, in September 1969, when unemployment benefit claims stood at 187,000 and the labor force was much smaller. Additionally, the unemployment rate remains low at 4.1%, with 162,000 jobs created in August, a number three times greater than what economists estimated.
Today, at an event in Texas and citing the lowest poverty figures in the country's history, Trump said that his party needs to "spread the message, because we have the best [economic] numbers of any president in history."
Trump Effect: the U.S. economy recorded its lowest unemployment rate in over five decades and poverty also decreased
The Census Bureau reported last month that poverty fell to 10.2% in 2025, the lowest figure in history, while real median household income increased by 2.6% to $87,460, the highest inflation-adjusted level since 1967.
Larry Kudlow, who was Trump's chief economic advisor in the White House during his first term and now works as a Fox News host, opined in an article he authored published Wednesday alongside economist Stephen Moore that Republicans can win the midterm elections by touting the economy.
"What a paradox: almost all economic indicators in the U.S. are solid today and the American economy is the envy of the world; however, consumers, stressed by gas prices at nearly $4.50 a gallon, are in a bad mood," they write.
Kudlow alongside Trump at a press conference
"Trump's affordability record is outstanding. In his first term, real median household income increased by $6,600, and only the COVID lockdowns of 2020 prevented that from becoming an average 'dividend' of nearly $8,000 per family," the authors consider.
"Compare that to Biden, who oversaw a meager $500 increase in median household income during his four years in the White House. So far, during the first year and a half of Trump's second term, real median income has risen another $2,000, and that is above inflation," they stated.
Kudlow and Moore concluded: "Republicans, do not shy away from Trump's economic miracle: celebrate the fact that the United States is leading the world, thanks to our strategy of successful tax cuts, deregulation, and energy dominance."
