Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 6 › Conversation 006-068

Nixon phone call with Shultz on unemployment rate and economic policy

Wednesday, June 30, 1971 · 7:44 PM–7:46 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Shultz, George P.Conversation006-068 on Tape 6 (tape position 01:17:28–01:19:42)StartWednesday, June 30, 1971 at 7:44 PMEndWednesday, June 30, 1971 at 7:46 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 006-068 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417189027 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and George Shultz discuss the positive drop in the unemployment rate from 6.2 percent in May to 5.6 percent in June. They deliberate on the best public relations strategy to manage the upcoming release of these economic figures. Nixon concludes that the administration should underplay the announcement and let the statistical improvement speak for itself.

Audio

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NARA Description

On June 30, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 7:44 pm to 7:46 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 006-068 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 6-68

Date: June 30, 1971
Time: 7:44 pm - 7:46 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with George P. Shultz.

     National economy
          -Unemployment rate
          -Compilation
          -Consumer price index
          -Retail sales
          -Announcement of unemployment rate
          -Administration public relations

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Hi, George.
I know.
and I'm sure that's partly responsible for all sorts of qualifications, but nevertheless, there it is.
It couldn't be totally responsible, could it, George?
No, it isn't totally responsible.
Probably 3% of it, huh?
Well... Oh, you never know.
In fact, it's just a poll anyway, isn't it?
No, it's a pretty good, I think it's a good sample.
These things go, it's the best sample that there is of
6.2 was in May, and 5.6 in June.
Oh, boy.
Then, of course, it'll go up from there.
It probably will.
There was a greater seasonal drop in the labor force, and the employment did not go up seasonally adjusted.
It went down, or it went up tremendously unadjusted.
What is the situation?
Well, that's good news.
That'll come out Friday?
That's great.
Well, the thing to do now is to have that sort of underplayed.
Don't you think?
Just let the figure speak for itself, or do you think you ought to brag about it?
No, I think that it'll be widely played.
Right.
Well, that's great.
Okay, George.
Okay.
Okay, thank you.

Also recorded on June 30, 1971

  • 006-067 7:41 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 7:41 pm to 7:43 pm.
  • 006-069 7:46 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:46 pm.
  • 006-070 7:46 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 7:46 pm to 7:49 pm.
  • 006-071 7:49 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:49 pm.
  • 006-072 7:50 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:50 pm.
  • 006-073 7:50 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:50 pm and 7:53 pm.
  • 006-074 7:50 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:50 pm and 7:53 pm.
  • 006-075 7:53 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Joseph Taylor talked on the telephone from 7:53 pm to 7:54 pm.

All 66 conversations from June 30, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 006-068, June 30, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417189027). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/006-068 (accessed November 2, 2026).