economic performance overall suffered as a result of the 2001 and 2007–2009 recessions. real gdp growth averaged 1.8% from q1 2001 to q4 2008. job creation averaged 95,000 private sector jobs per month, measured from february 2001 to january 2009, the least of any president since 1970. job creation during the 2001–2007 period was slow by historical standards and arguably unsustainable, as nearly all the net job creation was reversed during the subsequent great recession. the employment recoveries from both the 2001 and 2007–2009 recessions were protracted; the peak employment level for private sector workers in january 2008 was not regained until 2014. income inequality continued to worsen pre-tax (a trend since 1980) and was accelerated after-tax by the bush tax cuts, which dis-proportionally benefited higher-income taxpayers, who pay the majority of income taxes.