U.S. Department of the Treasury

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is delivering for families and for you.

Nearly two years since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), our economy is thriving. The TCJA is delivering real, tangible benefits for the American people.  Unemployment rates are at multi-decade lows, more people are keeping their hard-earned money and, most importantly, are enjoying the economic freedom to live their version of the American dream. American workers and their families are experiencing the benefits of pro-growth policies that are generating booming job creation and wage growth.

Here are the facts:

• Thanks in large part to TCJA, unemployment is at its lowest rate in nearly a half century.[1]
  • Since November 2016, 24 states have achieved or matched their lowest-ever unemployment rates.[2]
  • Unemployment rates for African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans have hit all-time lows.[3]
• You are earning more and keeping more of your hard-earned money.
  • We are in the midst of a 16-month streak of 3% year-over-year wage growth.[4]
  • The typical family earning $75,000 also received a tax cut of over $2,000.[5]
• More people are participating in the labor market than ever before – and are more productive as a result of the Trump administration’s economic policies.
  • Labor force participation in November was just below the 6-year high of 63.3%.[6]
  • More adults are at work – with individuals between the ages of 25 and 54 participating in the labor force at the highest rate since 2009.[7]
• Americans are being afforded the financial freedom and flexibility to pursue their version of the American dream.
  • New single-family home sales are up 31.6% in October 2019 compared to just one year ago.[8]
  • The poverty rate fell to a 17-year low of 11.8% under the Trump administration as a result of a jobs-rich environment.[9]
    • Poverty rates for African and Hispanic Americans have reached their lowest levels since the U.S. began collecting such data.[10]
  • Over 6 million Americans have left the food stamp program since February of 2017.
  • The Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey’s income inequality measure declined in 2018.[11]
• American consumers continue to drive economic growth. Real consumer spending grew at a strong 2.9% annual rate in Q3 of 2019, up from the 2.6% pace set during the preceding four quarters.[12]
  • Real disposable personal income grew at a 2.9% annual rate in Q3 of 2019, a total increase of nearly $110 billion.[13]
  • The average pace of annual growth in real disposable personal income per household under the Trump Administration ($2,577) has nearly doubled the pace from President Obama’s expansion period ($1,606).[14]
• The stock market is reaching unprecedented heights, allowing the average American to put away more money for their retirement. 
  • Both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have seen record highs this fall.[15]
  • Since fall of 2016, the S&P 500 has increased a whopping 50.3% which means the average American saving for retirement by holding the S&P 500 index saw a more than 50% increase in the value of their retirement plan. [16]
  • According to the 2017 Survey of Consumer Finance, the median retirement account had assets of approximately $60,000 in 2016.[17]  If that account were invested in the stock market for the last three years, that $60,000 has increased to approximately $90,000, without including any additional contributions.

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: Delivering Real Results for American Businesses

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is delivering for American businesses.

The TCJA is serving as the jet-fuel our economy needed to soar to new heights.It has made our economy competitive again, resulting in higher GDP growth, faster job creation, and increased wages for hardworking Americans.  In almost every measurable statistical category, the U.S. economy is exceeding expectations and outperforming other G7 economies.  As a result of the TCJA, businesses have been able to invest in more workers and more U.S. business operations. Businesses are now able to offer more opportunities to hardworking Americans and our economy is reaping the benefits.

Here are the facts:

• Through TCJA and other administration actions, our economy is creating jobs at an exceptional pace. 
  • Since November 2016, the economy has added more than 7 million jobs.[18]
    • For reference, this is more than the combined 2018 populations of Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Montana.
    • There are 5.1 million more jobs than the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had projected in its August 2016 report.[19]
• Over the past twelve months, employment growth has averaged a whopping 183,700 jobs a month.[20]
  • According to the most recent data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are nearly 1.3 million more job openings than unemployed persons.[21] 
  • September 2019 marks the 19th month in a row where there were more jobs available than people to fill them. This is a first since the data series began in the year 2000.[22]
• Manufacturing has seen a boost – contributing to a #BlueCollarBoom.
  • Since November 2016, the manufacturing sector has added an impressive 524,000 jobs.[23]The National Association of Manufacturers’ survey of the industry hit record levels of confidence under the Trump administration.[24]
  • In November 2019 alone, 54,000 new manufacturing jobs were created. 
• United States’ growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shows that while other countries have begun to slow down, our economy remains vibrant.
  • U.S. GDP is $320 billion higher than the CBO had projected it would be in 2016.[25]
  • In 2019 so far, the U.S. economy grew 2.4% at an average annual rate, while the rest of the G7 has grown at 1.0%.[26]
• U.S. companies are bringing money back home from overseas.
  • As a result of TCJA, U.S. companies have brought back close to a trillion dollars from overseas. 
    • As reported by Bloomberg as recently as June, corporations have brought back $876.8 billion dollars since TCJA was enacted.[28]
  • The TCJA stemmed the tide of corporate tax inversions by substantially reducing incentives for companies to go overseas.

[1] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The Employment Situation – November 2019.”  December 6, 2019. Available: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

[2] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “State Employment and Unemployment – October 2019.” November 19, 2019. Available: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/laus.pdf

[3] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The Employment Situation – November 2019.”  December 6, 2019. Available: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

[4] Ibid.

[5] The White House. “Out with the Old, In with the New: Tax Cuts and Reforms that Look Out for Hardworking Taxpayers.” April 17, 2018. Available: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/old-new-tax-cuts-reforms-look-hardworking-taxpayers/

[6] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The Employment Situation – November 2019.”  December 6, 2019. Available: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

[7] Ibid.

[8] U.S. Census Bureau. “Monthly New Residential Sales, October 2019.”  November 26, 2019. Available: https://www.census.gov/construction/nrs/pdf/newressales.pdf

[9] U.S. Census Bureau. Income and Poverty in the United States: 2018.September 10, 2019. Available: https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2019/demo/p60-266.pdf

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. “Gross Domestic Product, Third Quarter 2019 (Second Estimate); Corporate Profits, Third Quarter 2019 (Preliminary Estimate).” November 27, 2019. Available: https://www.bea.gov/system/files/2019-11/gdp3q19_2nd.pdf

[13]Ibid.

[14] Ibid.

[15] S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, S&P 500 [SP500], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. December 6, 2019. Available: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SP500.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.  Survey of consumer Finances. October 31, 2017. Available: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htm

[18] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The Employment Situation – November 2019.”  December 6, 2019. Available: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

[19] Congressional Budget Office. An Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook: 2016 to 2026. August 23, 2016. Available: https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2019-04/51908-2016outlookupdateonecol-3.pdf

[20] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The Employment Situation – November 2019.”  December 6, 2019. Available: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

[21] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Job Openings and Labor Turnover – September 2019.”  November 5, 2019. Available: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/jolts.pdf

[22] Ibid.

[23]U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The Employment Situation – November 2019.”  December 6, 2019. Available: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

[24] National Association of Manufacturers. “Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey: Third Quarter 2019.” September 23, 2019. Available: https://www.nam.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/National-Association-of-Manufacturers-Outlook-Survey-Report-Q3-2019.pdf

[25]U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. “Gross Domestic Product, Third Quarter 2019 (Second Estimate); Corporate Profits, Third Quarter 2019 (Preliminary Estimate).” November 27, 2019. Available: https://www.bea.gov/system/files/2019-11/gdp3q19_2nd.pdf

[26] Haver Analytics and Office of Economic Policy calculations, Statistics Canada, Institut national de la statistique et des etudes economiques, Deutsche Bundesbank, Instituto Nazionale di Statistica, Cabinet Office of Japan, U.K. Office for National Statistics.

[27] The National Bureau of Economic Research. “US Business Cycle Expansions and Contractions.” September 20, 2010. Available: https://www.nber.org/cycles.html

[28] Dmitrieva, Katia, and Laura Davison. “Corporate America is Repatriating a Fraction of Corporate Profits.” June 20, 2019. Available: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-20/corporate-america-is-repatriating-a-fraction-of-foreign-profits