In the months prior to the pandemic, the unemployment rate during the Trump administration was below 4% for nearly 20 straight months — there was one exception in that stretch, when the rate was 4% in January 2019.
Had Biden set the threshold a tick higher, at or below 4% — instead of simply below 4% — then “the longest stretch in over 50 years” would have occurred under the president he beat in 2020 and may face again in 2024: Donald Trump.
During the Trump administration, there were 24 straight months when the unemployment rate was at or below 4%, starting in March 2018 and ending in February 2020, before the devastating economic effects of the pandemic kicked in.
By that measure, an unemployment rate at or below 4%, the Biden administration is currently riding a streak of 20 straight months — the longest stretch in over three years.