Former President Donald Trump blasted his successor as a 'one trick pony,' after the Biden administration said employers had added just 210,000 jobs in November.
That number fell short of economists' forecasts even though the White House trumpeted it as showing America was getting back to work.
'America fell 340,000 jobs short of the very modest expectations set by economists,' said Trump in an emailed statement.
'That’s because Joe Biden is a one trick pony, “Get the vaccine.” But no one trusts this administration.'
The latest figures suggest companies are still cautious about hiring as the coronavirus pandemic drags on.
The data were compiled by the Department of Labor before Wednesday's announcement that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was found in the U.S.
Even so Biden said unemployment had dropped faster under him than under any other president in their first term.
That brought a stinging response from Trump who said his vaccine was the only thing that was working, as Americans battled record gas prices and inflation.
Former President Trump described Joe Biden as a 'one trick pony' as he blasted his performance and the administration's latest jobs numbers on Friday
The U.S. economy added just 210,000 jobs in November, which is 340,000 below the expected 550,000 jobs, in a sign that companies are still wary of the coronavirus pandemic. The data was compiled before Wednesday's announcement that Omicron was in the U.S.
'This administration is destroying America before our very eyes because there is no leadership,' he said.
'Besides my vaccine, this is the administration of no jobs and massive layoffs, high gas and energy prices, high crime, empty shelves, open borders, and a horrendous surrender and evacuation from Afghanistan.
'A lot of effort and money went into RIGGING the 2020 Presidential Election, only to destroy the Country. Was it worth it?'
News of the jobs numbers emerged while White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was on live television, doing a roundtable for MSNBC's Morning Joe, when the number dropped.
'That's a number that feels a little, what? A little off?' Co-host Mika Brzezinski asked, as economists had predicted 550,000 jobs to be added.
Psaki said she couldn't publicly comment about the Department of Labor report yet.
'Well, I know this sounds a little archaic, but I can't comment on them until 9:30 a.m., by rules because I work at the White House,' Psaki said. 'I will say what people can expect the president to continue to say today, month-to-month, is that what we're seeing are good trends.'
President Joe Biden welcomed the news, saying America was back to work.
'Today, we have incredible news that our unemployment rate has fallen to 4.2% – a level experts didn’t expect us to achieve until 2024,' he tweeted.
'We’ve created 588,000 jobs per month on average this year – a record.'
The unemployment rate fell to 4.2 per cent, the lowest since the beginning of the
