President Obama has the privilege of getting a sneak preview of the U.S. jobs report every month, before it is released to the public.
On Thursday night, the president will get his last early peek. Starting next month, President-elect Donald Trump will start receiving the news the night before.
The monthly jobs report is considered one of the most important measures of the health of the economy. The critical information is kept under a tight seal, until it is released on the first Friday of every month.
It is hugely influential, in terms of its potential to affect the performance of the global financial markets.
The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers briefs the president on the jobs numbers the night before they are released. It’s standard procedure.
Since Obama took office in 2009, the economy has added over 11 million jobs. However, the president often touts that America has added 15 million jobs during his time, which is true if you discount the job losses during the recession and start counting jobs added since February 2010.
The unemployment rate also fell to 4.6% in November, a huge improvement compared to the 10% peak in October 2009.