Russert: But when you proposed your first tax cut in 2001, you said this was going to generate 800,000 new jobs. Your tax cut of 2003, create a million new jobs. That has not happened.

Bush: Well, it's happening. It's happening. And there is good momentum when it comes to the creation of new jobs. [“Meet the Press”, 2/8/04]

FACT: Job Growth Is Weak

Job Growth Weak; Manufacturing Continues to be Hard Hit. In January 2004, payrolls grew by 112,000 jobs, compared with an upwardly revised gain of 16,000 in December. The unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent from 5.7 percent in December. “Two and a half years into this recovery, and the economy can only muster up 112,000 new jobs?” said Richard Yamarone, chief economist at Argus Research. “That's a bad number, not a good number.” The manufacturing sector lost 11,000 jobs, the 42nd straight month of falling factory payrolls; manufacturing losses now account for 95 percent of all jobs lost under Bush. [CNN.com, 2/6/04]

Unemployment Dropped Only Because People Quit Looking for Work.

According to new Labor Department statistics, the slight drop in unemployment is attributed to the 300,000 American workers who quit looking for work in December and “dropped out of the pool of available workers.” [AP, 1/9/04]