Voters aren't feeling the record job gains, polling finds

The U.S. economy saw record job growth over the past year, but a lot of regular folks apparently didn't get the memo. A new poll from a progressive data firm finds 35% of voters believe the country is experiencing more job losses than usual.

Why it matters: This is a political headache for President Joe Biden, who will be making the case in tonight's State of the Union that we're in "one of the strongest labor market recoveries in American history," according to the White House's notes.

• The survey also follows numerous reports of Americans feeling like the economy is more bummer than boom — in part because record high inflation is mostly erasing any wage gains they might be seeing.

Details: In the survey, conducted last week by Navigator research, only 19% believed the U.S. is seeing more job growth than usual. This is the first time the polling firm asked voters for their views on job growth.

Background: The U.S. has been through a wild up-down on jobs since spring 2020 when the unemployment rate reached levels last seen during the Great Depression. Since then, we've seen an astonishing recovery.

The economy added 6.6 million jobs over the last 12 months. And while we're still not quite back to normal, there is no doubt — at least among economists and observers — that the labor market is hot right now.

Bottom line: The jobs recovery has been impressive, but in so many other ways Americans' lives are in a state of flux.