President Joe Biden, center, delivers remarks on recovery efforts for the Maui wildfires and the response to Hurricane Idalia, in the Roosevelt Room of the White Houseon Wednesday. In a statement Wednesday, he also praised economic recovery in the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman metro area. ....(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows metro-area unemployment fell to a record low for Youngstown last month, and President Joe Biden mentioned that improvement Wednesday in a statement.

“Under Bidenomics, America is back to work and leading the world again, and with the Youngstown area at its lowest unemployment rate on record, it is helping drive America’s strong economic growth,” Biden stated.

“With my investments to help rebuild Youngstown infrastructure, and private sector investments pouring in across the state, Youngstown can help lead America’s economy for the next generation, too.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman metropolitan area’s unemployment rate for July at 4.1%, compared with 5.2% in July 2022.

In June, the metro area’s unemployment rate was 4.3%, compared with 5.3% in June 2022.

That’s a far cry from October 2018 when Youngstown had the highest unemployment in Ohio among cities with a population of 50,000 or more — at 7.4%.

SUMMER PITCH

Biden this summer has been delivering his pitch to a skeptical public that the U.S. economy is thriving under what he and the White House are calling”Bidenomics,” expected to be a key theme of his 2024 re-election bid.

It includes trillions of public and private dollars flowing in the U.S. to build thousands of roads, bridges and manufacturing projects in communities large and small in Democrat and Republican states.

They include an electric vehicle “battery belt” of manufacturing stretching from Michigan to Georgia, semiconductor fabrication plants in Arizona, Texas, Ohio and New York and broadband expansion to Appalachia.

Taken together, they represent Biden’s attempt to use the levers of government to chart a new era of domestic manufacturing, modernizing the U.S. to compete in the 21st century.

“Bidenomics” is the product of three major bills approved in the last Congress that also are the president’s hoped-for road map for re-election. Republicans have balked at what they said was unwarranted federal spending. The debate between those two views could go a long way toward determining who wins the White House and control of Congress in 2024.

INTEREST RATES

The continued strength of the U.S. economy could require further interest rate increases, however, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned recently as he highlighted the uncertain nature of the economic outlook.

Powell noted that the economy has been growing faster than expected and that consumers have kept spending briskly — trends that could keep inflation pressures high. He reiterated the Fed’s determination to keep its benchmark rate elevated until inflation is reduced to its 2% target.

“We are attentive to signs that the economy may not be cooling as expected,” Powell said. “We are prepared to raise rates further if appropriate and intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective.

“Although inflation has moved down from its peak — a welcome development — it remains too high.”