| Year | President | Unemployment Rate | GDP Growth | Inflation (Dec. YOY) | What Happened |
| 1929 | Hoover | 3.20% | NA | 0.60% | Market crash |
| 1930 | Hoover | 8.70% | -8.50% | -6.40% | Smoot-Hawley |
| 1931 | Hoover | 15.90% | -6.40% | -9.30% | Dust Bowl |
| 1932 | Hoover | 23.60% | -12.90% | -10.30% | Hoover's tax hikes |
| 1933 | Hoover/FDR | 24.90% | -1.20% | 0.80% | FDR's New Deal |
| 1934 | FDR | 21.70% | 10.80% | 1.50% | Depression eased thanks to New Deal |
| 1935 | FDR | 20.10% | 8.90% | 3.00% |
| 1936 | FDR | 16.90% | 12.90% | 1.40% |
| 1937 | FDR | 14.30% | 5.10% | 2.90% | Spending cuts |
| 1938 | FDR | 19.00% | -3.30% | -2.80% | FLSA starts min wage |
| 1939 | FDR | 17.20% | 8.00% | 0% | Drought ended |
| 1940 | FDR | 14.60% | 8.80% | 0.70% | U.S. draft |
| 1941 | FDR | 9.90% | 17.70% | 9.90% | Pearl Harbor |
| 1942 | FDR | 4.70% | 18.90% | 9.00% | Defense tripled |
| 1943 | FDR | 1.90% | 17.00% | 3.00% | Germany surrendered at Stalingrad |
| 1944 | FDR | 1.20% | 8.00% | 2.30% | Bretton Woods |
| 1945 | FDR/Truman | 1.90% | -1.00% | 2.20% | War ends. Min wage $0.40 |
| 1946 | Truman | 3.90% | -11.60% | 18.10% | Employment Act |
| 1947 | Truman | 3.60% | -1.10% | 8.80% | Marshall Plan negotiated |
| 1948 | Truman | 4.00% | 4.10% | 3.00% | Truman reelected |
| 1949 | Truman | 6.60% | -0.60% | -2.10% | Fair Deal; NATO |
| 1950 | Truman | 4.30% | 8.70% | 5.90% | Korean War; Min wage $0.75 |
| 1951 | Truman | 3.10% | 8.00% | 6.00% | Expansion |
| 1952 | Truman | 2.70% | 4.10% | 0.80% | Expansion |
| 1953 | Truman/Eisenhower | 4.50% | 4.70% | 0.70% | Korean War ended |
| 1954 | Eisenhower | 5.00% | -0.60% | -0.70% | Dow returned to 1929 level |
| 1955 | Eisenhower | 4.20% | 7.10% | 0.40% | Unemployment fell |
| 1956 | Eisenhower | 4.20% | 2.10% | 3.00% | Min wage $1.00 |
| 1957 | Eisenhower | 5.20% | 2.10% | 2.90% | Recession |
| 1958 | Eisenhower | 6.20% | -0.70% | 1.80% |
| 1959 | Eisenhower | 5.30% | 6.90% | 1.70% | Expansion |
| 1960 | Eisenhower | 6.60% | 2.60% | 1.40% | Recession |
| 1961 | Eisenhower/JFK | 6.00% | 2.30% | 0.70% | JFK; Min wage $1.15 |
| 1962 | JFK | 5.50% | 6.10% | 1.30% | Cuban Missile Crisis |
| 1963 | JFK/LBJ | 5.50% | 4.40% | 1.60% | LBJ; Min wage $1.25 |
| 1964 | LBJ | 5.00% | 5.80% | 1.00% | Tax cut |
| 1965 | LBJ | 4.00% | 6.50% | 1.90% | US enters Vietnam War |
| 1966 | LBJ | 3.80% | 6.60% | 3.50% | Expansion |
| 1967 | LBJ | 3.80% | 2.70% | 3.00% | Min wage $1.40 |
| 1968 | LBJ | 3.40% | 4.90% | 4.70% | Min wage $1.60 |
| 1969 | LBJ/Nixon | 3.50% | 3.10% | 6.20% | Nixon took office |
| 1970 | Nixon | 6.10% | 0.20% | 5.60% | Recession |
| 1971 | Nixon | 6.00% | 3.30% | 3.30% | Emergency Employment Act; Wage-price controls |
| 1972 | Nixon | 5.20% | 5.30% | 3.40% | Ongoing Stagflation; Watergate break-in |
| 1973 | Nixon | 4.90% | 5.60% | 8.70% | CETA; Gold standard; Vietnam War ended |
| 1974 | Nixon/Ford | 7.20% | -0.50% | 12.30% | Nixon resigns; Min. wage $2.00 |
| 1975 | Ford | 8.20% | -0.20% | 6.90% | Recession ended |
| 1976 | Ford | 7.80% | 5.40% | 4.90% | Expansion |
| 1977 | Ford/Carter | 6.40% | 4.60% | 6.70% | Carter took office |
| 1978 | Carter | 6.00% | 5.50% | 9.00% | Fed raised rate to 20% to stop inflation |
| 1979 | Carter | 6.00% | 3.20% | 13.30% |
| 1980 | Carter | 7.20% | -0.30% | 12.50% | Recession |
| 1981 | Carter/Reagan | 8.50% | 2.50% | 8.90% | Reagan tax cuts; Min. wage $3.35 |
| 1982 | Reagan | 10.80% | -1.80% | 3.80% | Job Training Partnership Act; Garn-St.Germain Act |
| 1983 | Reagan | 8.30% | 4.60% | 3.80% | Reagan increased military spending |
| 1984 | Reagan | 7.30% | 7.20% | 3.90% |
| 1985 | Reagan | 7.00% | 4.20% | 3.80% | Expansion |
| 1986 | Reagan | 6.60% | 3.50% | 1.10% | Tax cuts |
| 1987 | Reagan | 5.70% | 3.50% | 4.40% | Black Monday |
| 1988 | Reagan | 5.30% | 4.20% | 4.40% | Fed raised rate |
| 1989 | Reagan/Bush | 5.40% | 3.70% | 4.60% | Reforms made to address S&L Crisis |
| 1990 | Bush | 6.30% | 1.90% | 6.10% | Recession |
| 1991 | Bush | 7.30% | -0.10% | 3.10% | Desert Storm; Min. wage $4.25 |
| 1992 | Bush | 7.40% | 3.50% | 2.90% | NAFTA drafted |
| 1993 | Bush/Clinton | 6.50% | 2.80% | 2.70% | Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act |
| 1994 | Clinton | 5.50% | 4.00% | 2.70% | School to Work Act |
| 1995 | Clinton | 5.60% | 2.70% | 2.50% | Expansion |
| 1996 | Clinton | 5.40% | 3.80% | 3.30% | Welfare reform |
| 1997 | Clinton | 4.70% | 4.40% | 1.70% | Min. wage $5.85 |
| 1998 | Clinton | 4.40% | 4.50% | 1.60% | LTCM crisis |
| 1999 | Clinton | 4.00% | 4.80% | 2.70% | Euro; Serbian airstrike |
| 2000 | Clinton | 3.90% | 4.10% | 3.40% | NASDAQ hit record high |
| 2001 | Clinton/Bush | 5.70% | 1.00% | 1.60% | Bush tax cuts; 9/11 attacks |
| 2002 | Bush | 6.00% | 1.70% | 2.40% | War on Terror |
| 2003 | Bush | 5.70% | 2.90% | 1.90% | JGTRRA |
| 2004 | Bush | 5.40% | 3.80% | 3.30% | Expansion |
| 2005 | Bush | 4.90% | 3.50% | 3.40% | Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention Act; Katrina |
| 2006 | Bush | 4.40% | 2.90% | 2.50% | Expansion |
| 2007 | Bush | 5.00% | 1.90% | 4.10% |
| 2008 | Bush | 7.30% | -0.10% | 0.10% | Min. wage $6.55; Financial crisis |
| 2009 | Bush/Obama | 9.90% | -2.50% | 2.70% | ARRA; Min. wage $7.25; Jobless benefits extended |
| 2010 | Obama | 9.30% | 2.60% | 1.50% | Obama tax cuts |
| 2011 | Obama | 8.50% | 1.60% | 3.00% | 26 months of job losses by July; Debt ceiling crisis; Iraq War ended |
| 2012 | Obama | 7.90% | 2.20% | 1.70% | QE; 10-year rate at 200-year low; Fiscal cliff |
| 2013 | Obama | 6.70% | 1.80% | 1.50% | Stocks up 30%; Long term = 50% unemployed |
| 2014 | Obama | 5.60% | 2.50% | 0.80% | Unemployment at 2007 levels |
| 2015 | Obama | 5.00% | 3.10% | 0.70% | Natural rate |
| 2016 | Obama | 4.70% | 1.70% | 2.10% | Presidential race |
| 2017 | Obama/Trump | 4.10% | 2.30% | 2.10% | Dollar weakened |
| 2018 | Trump | 3.90% | 3.00% | 1.90% | Trump tax cuts |
| 2019 | Trump | 3.50% | 2.20% | 2.30% | Goldilocks economy |
| 2020 | Trump | 6.90% | -34.30% | 2.30% | CoViD19 Pandemic |
| 2021 | Trump/Biden | 6.70% | 2.16% | 2.10% |
