Fox & Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson pushed the right-wing media's false claim that an increase in government employment made up the bulk of job growth during the economic recovery. The private sector, however, has added millions of jobs since 2009 while the public sector has shed hundreds of thousands of them.
Fox Host Refuses To Acknowledge Economic Reality
Published
Fox's Gretchen Carlson Continues Right-Wing Media's Disregard Of Economic Reality
Carlson: During Recovery, “The Jobs That Were Actually Increasing Were Government Jobs.” Responding to a discussion about government pay, Fox & Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson claimed that government hiring drove post-recession job growth:
[I] think that there has been an increase in jobs in the government over the last four years during the recession when unemployment was at a high level. I think the jobs that were actually increasing were government jobs. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/26/13]
For more on right-wing media baselessly crediting the job recovery with government hiring, click here.
But Government Shed Nearly A Quarter Million Jobs Since The Recession's End
Bureau of Labor Statistics: The Government Workforce Shed 742,000 Employees Since June 2009. According to Bureau of Labor Statistic's data, the private sector added a total of 5.2 million jobs since June 2009, while public sector employment declined by 740,000. The upward tick in 2010 was due to administrative needs during the Census.
[Bureau of Labor Statistics, compiled 3/8/13, via Media Matters]