A Labor Department employment report shows the U.S. economy continuing to power ahead. Yet many voters’ perceptions remain stubbornly negative. ![Person riding a bicycle past a sign that says "NOW HIRING HVAC HARDWORK GREAT"]()
For months now,one of the key questions—perhapsthekey question—in American politics has been when, and if, good economic news will feed into the polling data on the Presidential race. Growth in employment and G.D.P. has been much stronger than expected, and the inflation rate has come down faster than predicted. Yet President Biden’s approval rating on handling the economy has barely budged. (As of Monday, according to a Real Clear Politics poll average, it stood at a lowly 39.6 per cent.) Last Friday’s job figures for March heightened the conundrum. The Labor Department announced that the economy created another 303,000 jobs last month, greatly exceeding Wall Street predictions; the unemployment rate ticked down from 3.9 per cent to 3.8 per cent, marking its twenty-sixth straight month below four per cent, a fifty-year record. Thomas Simons, an analyst at the investment bank Jefferies, commented, “The data leaves us borderline speechless.” | 
