WASHINGTON—President Biden likes to talk about “jobs, jobs, jobs” when touting his economic record. The problem is that voters are far more worried about prices, prices, prices.

The disconnect is one reason why his Bidenomics re-election pitch is landing flat despite a broadly resilient U.S. economy that has defied expectations. Prices have gone up by 19% since the start of the pandemic, a hard-to-forget leap that has left voters in search of someone to blame.