AP FACT CHECK: Trump claims credit for jobs that predate him

WASHINGTON – A claim by President Donald Trump from his speech to Congress and how it stacks up with the facts:

TRUMP: “Since my election, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler, General Motors, Sprint, Softbank, Lockheed, Intel, Walmart and many others have announced that they will invest billions of dollars in the United States and will create tens of thousands of new American jobs.”

THE FACTS: Many of the announcements reflect corporate decisions that predate Trump’s presidential election, making it unlikely that his administration is the sole or even the primary reason for the expected hiring.

In the case of Intel, construction of the Chandler, Arizona, factory referred to by Trump actually began during Barack Obama’s presidency. The project was delayed by insufficient demand for Intel’s high-powered computer chips, but the company now expects to finish the factory within four years because it anticipates business growth.

Still, even as some companies create jobs, others are laying off workers. The best measure of whether more jobs are actually being created are the figures in the monthly employment reports issued by the Labor Department, which nets out those gains and losses. The department will issue its report for February, the first full month of Trump’s term, on March 10.

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Contributed by Associated Press writer Christopher S. Rugaber.