During the 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden promised to "create 1 million new jobs in the American auto industry, domestic auto supply chains and auto infrastructure." Two years into his first term, he's made progress on this pledge.
The most basic definition of automotive industry jobs comes from four categories tallied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There was job growth for each category.
• Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing grew from 945,600 jobs when Biden was inaugurated to 1,036,300 in the most recent month available, November 2022.
• Wholesale motor vehicles and parts grew from 342,900 to 350,800 over the same period.
• Retail motor vehicles and parts grew from 1,902,100 to 1,987,800.
• Automotive repair and maintenance grew from 904,900 to 1,011,300.
Together, these four categories produced an increase of 290,700 jobs on Biden's watch.
At the current pace — which may not last — this would create 581,400 auto jobs in the remaining two years of this presidential term.
That works out to less than 1 million jobs over four years, the number Biden promised. But this calculation doesn't include some jobs that fall outside of these four categories, such as electric vehicle charging stations, which Biden specifically cited in making the promise.
As president, Biden has signed legislation, including a bipartisan infrastructure bill and the CHIPS and Science Act, that were designed to boost networks that underlie the expansion of electric vehicles and advanced electric batteries. Although it's too soon to count jobs created from such legislation, the number of jobs in the automotive sector could increase as a result.
It's premature to give Biden a final rating halfway through this term. But the automotive sector has seen significant job increases so far on his watch, and Biden signed several bills that could boost employment in these sectors going forward.
We rate the promise In the Works.