President Donald Trump says he'll be "the greatest jobs producer that God ever created."
To beat his presidential peers, what will Mr. Trump have to accomplish?
We looked at job creation under 12 full presidencies for which monthly data are available, spanning from Harry Truman through Barack Obama, and tallied the total change in non-farm payroll employment over a president's tenure, along with the percentage change.
Who would Mr. Trump need to beat? Bill Clinton and Lyndon Johnson.
Nearly 23 million more Americans were employed at the end of Mr. Clinton's tenure than the beginning, an unparalleled period of job creation in overall terms. (Mr. Trump says his economic plan will create 25 million jobs over the next decade. )
Total change in employment by presidency
25 million employed people
Clinton
+22.9m
20
Reagan
+16.1m
15
Obama
+11.3m
10
Truman
+8.7m
5
Bush II
+1.3m
0
-5
0
12
24
36
48
60
72
84
Months in office
Total change in employment by presidency
25 million employed people
Clinton
+22.9m
20
Reagan
+16.1m
15
Obama
+11.3m
10
Truman
+8.7m
5
Bush II
+1.3m
0
-5
0
12
24
36
48
60
72
84
Months in office
Total change in employment by presidency
25 million employed people
Clinton
+22.9m
20
Reagan
+16.1m
15
Obama
+11.3m
10
Truman
+8.7m
5
Bush II
+1.3m
0
-5
0
12
24
36
48
60
72
84
Months in office
Total change in employment by presidency
25 million employed people
Clinton
+22.9m
20
Reagan
+16.1m
15
Obama
+11.3m
10
Truman
+8.7m
5
Bush II
+1.3m
0
-5
0
12
24
36
48
60
72
84
Months in office
Under Mr. Johnson, total employment surged 21.3 per cent, the highest percentage gain seen under a post-war president.
Per cent change in employment by presidency
0
5
-5
25%
-10
10
15
20
1946
Truman
21.0%
Eisenhower
7.1%
1958
Kennedy
6.7%
Johnson
21.3%
1970
Nixon
13.2%
Ford
2.6%
Carter
12.8%
1982
Reagan
17.7%
Bush I
2.5%
1994
Clinton
20.9%
Bush II
1.0%
2006
Obama
8.4%
Per cent change in employment by presidency
25%
Johnson
21.3%
Clinton
20.9%
Truman
21.0%
20
Reagan
17.7%
Nixon
13.2%
Carter
12.8%
15
Eisenhower
7.1%
Obama
8.4%
10
5
0
Bush I
2.5%
Kennedy
6.7%
Bush II
1.0%
-5
Ford
2.6%
-10
1946
1958
1970
1982
1994
2006
Per cent change in employment by presidency
0
5
-5
25%
-10
10
15
20
1946
Truman
21.0%
Eisenhower
7.1%
1958
Kennedy
6.7%
Johnson
21.3%
1970
Nixon
13.2%
Ford
2.6%
Carter
12.8%
1982
Reagan
17.7%
Bush I
2.5%
1994
Clinton
20.9%
Bush II
1.0%
2006
Obama
8.4%
Per cent change in employment by presidency
25%
Johnson
21.3%
Clinton
20.9%
Truman
21.0%
20
Reagan
17.7%
Nixon
13.2%
Carter
12.8%
15
Eisenhower
7.1%
Obama
8.4%
10
5
0
Bush I
2.5%
Kennedy
6.7%
Bush II
1.0%
-5
Ford
2.6%
-10
1946
1958
1970
1982
1994
2006
Mr. Trump will have his work cut out for him.
To best Mr. Johnson's gain, he'll need to put an additional 30.92-million Americans to work during his presidency, as calculated from the most recent reading of employment. As it stands, 7.5 million are unemployed. Millions of Americans will need to join the labour force, and he'll likely need a hefty dose of immigration – an uncertain outcome given his campaign comments – to have a puncher's chance of making good on his pledge.
Demographics are not on his side, either: the U.S. is aging and its labour force participation rate has been largely in retreat for decades.
To be clear, these figures do not account for job quality, and of course, presidents have a limited direct impact on hiring. But their policies go a long way in determining the country's economic direction – and ultimately, its hiring power.
Graphics by Tom Cardoso
Note: Data is seasonally adjusted. For each president, we used the employment figure for the month he assumed office as a base value and calculated the difference up to and including the month he left, even if those months were partly served. Data have yet to be released for Mr. Obama's final month in office.