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Not all that scary, as they turned out. In the former case, it was especially tough on defense contractors, as I recall. In the present case it's been especially tough on computer programmers.
Ok, but during the malaise of the Carter administration the economy added about 9 million jobs between inauguration and July of 1980. The growth rate was more than 10% from 80.7 million to 89.8 million.
Looking at recent presidents and similar time periods:
Reagan's first term 91.0 million to 94.8 million
Reagan's second term 96.3 mllion to 105.3 million
Bush I 107.1 million to 108.6 million
Clinton's first term 109.7 to 120.0 million
Clinton's second term 121.2 to 132.3 million
Anti-immigration folks claim 1 million immigrants a year find jobs here. Us pro-immigration folks agree. So that's 4 million jobs in 4 years. Yet the Black and White unemployment rates are lower than during the Clinton years. Only the YOUTH unemployment rate is up (slightly).
Does anyone doubt that 99% of the 80,000 Guard and Reservists in Iraq would be in the civilian labor force and employed if back home? Thus not only are they a hole in the employment picture, they are also a hole in the multiplier effect. They are not buying building material to fix their houses.... which means fewer jobs at HomeDepot, etc.
Furthermore, During the Bush years another 4 million NEW jobs have been created, mostly hi-tech. Yet they are not counted. Why? Because they are in India.
Statistics is all in what population you pick. Include or exclude to suit your agenda the self-employed, the semi-retired, the temporarily employed, the immigrants, the outsourced (domestic or foreign), etc.
(I have been temporarily employed 39 of my 43 adult years yet never been unemployed for longer than 2 weeks for a total of 7 weeks unemployment in 43 years. And then I didn't show up in statistics because unemployment statistics are people applying for, or on, unemployment comp. They miss people who don't apply because they know they will get another job soon, or know they will be denied compensation due to the circumstances of their termination, of who just don't believe in taking a government check.)
Not all that scary, as they turned out. In the former case, it was especially tough on defense contractors, as I recall. In the present case it's been especially tough on computer programmers.
Bush 1 set the policies in motion in 1992 for Clinton to enjoy the economies("peace dividends") of the later 1990's.
Clinton actually did nothing at all to the economy which was probably a good thing....other than he and his party passing the retroactive tax increases(in 1993) on capital gains back to the first of the year.