Fact-checking Joe Biden on auto jobs gained and lost on his watch and Trump’s

President Joe Biden recently addressed the United Auto Workers, praising the union for its gains after last year’s strike against the Detroit Three automakers. Biden also touted the auto industry’s job gains on his watch, comparing them with those under his predecessor, Donald Trump.

"Tens of thousands of auto jobs were lost nationwide during Trump’s presidency," Biden told the UAW conference Jan. 24 in Washington. Biden said during his presidency, "We’ve created more than 250,000 auto jobs all across America."

Biden mentioned "factories" twice in the lead-in to his comments about job gains and losses, but didn’t mention dealerships. His audience, the UAW, represents manufacturing workers, not workers in the significantly larger dealerships sector.

Statistics show that Biden’s numbers are accurate for both Trump’s and Biden’s presidencies, but only if including jobs in auto and parts dealerships, not just auto and parts manufacturing.

When contacted for comment, the White House pointed to a webpage of the Bureau of Labor Statistics — the federal government’s official agency for employment statistics — that includes both categories in its definition of the "automotive industry."

President Joe Biden speaks during a United Auto Workers' political convention on Jan. 24, 2024. (AP)

Looking at only auto and parts manufacturing employment shows that those jobs declined under Trump, but not by "tens of thousands." According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 8,800 of those jobs were lost during Trump’s tenure.

And that doesn’t account for the COVID-19 pandemic, which cast a pall over all employment statistics for the last 10 months of Trump’s presidency. Before the pandemic’s March 2020 onset, auto and parts manufacturing employment rose by 27,900 jobs under Trump.

During Biden’s presidency, employment in auto and parts manufacturing rose by 127,800 jobs through December 2023, or about half of the 250,000 jobs Biden claimed in his UAW speech.

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However, it’s possible to reach the number Biden cited by adding in a related employment category: auto and parts dealers.

During Trump’s presidency, the number of manufacturing and dealer jobs collectively declined by 86,600, which qualifies as "tens of thousands." Before the pandemic, the number of jobs under Trump grew by 67,100.

So far for the Biden presidency, the combined job gains in these two categories has been 259,200, close to what Biden told the UAW.

Gary Burtless, an economist with the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said that however the auto industry is defined, Biden has a positive story to tell.

"According to nearly every notable statistic, the U.S. economy is doing well and has been doing well since the beginning of the recovery," Burtless said. "That's true for the auto industry, whether or not we include employment in ‘auto and parts dealers’ in the auto industry."

Biden said, "Tens of thousands of auto jobs were lost nationwide during Trump's presidency," but during Biden’s presidency, "we've created more than 250,000 auto jobs all across America."

Biden is correct if counting both jobs in automotive manufacturing and in automotive dealerships. 

If counting only auto manufacturing jobs, though, Biden’s numbers fall short. 

Biden’s assessment of Trump’s record doesn’t account for the coronavirus pandemic’s unprecedented economic wallop.

The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details. We rate it Half True.