Congresswoman Lee Releases Statement on August Jobs Report
Oakland, CA – Today, the Department of Labor announced that August marked the 66th consecutive month of private sector job growth, the longest period of private sector job growth in American history. Congresswoman Lee released this statement:
“Today’s jobs report shows ongoing progress for our recovering economy and continues the longest consecutive period of private sector job growth in our history.
It is clear that President Obama’s efforts to improve our economy are working. Yet House Republicans continue to put this progress in jeopardy through their partisan games and manufactured crises. Republican leaders must sit down with Democrats immediately to avert a shutdown and end their brinkmanship governance.
Today’s report also shows that Congress has more work to do to ensure the economic recovery reaches all families.
The unemployment rate for African Americans stands at 9.5 percent, more than twice the unemployment for white Americans (4.4 percent).
Economic gains for Latinos lag as well. The unemployment rate for Latinos (6.6 percent) remains more than two points higher than the average for white Americans.
We cannot allow our economic recovery to leave anyone behind. Congress must act now to renew unemployment insurance for those still struggling, empower workers with adequate workforce training and create good-paying jobs by investing in our crumbling infrastructure. We need to enact policies that will lift up our entire workforce and ensure that future economic gains reach all Americans.”