Congresswoman Lee Releases Statement on the March Jobs Report
Oakland, CA – Today, the Department of Labor announced that the economy continued to grow steadily in March, creating 215,000 new jobs. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, chair of the Democratic Whip Task Force on Poverty, Income Inequality, and Opportunity, released this statement:
“The March Jobs Report, which marks the 73rd consecutive month of private sector job growth, shows that our economy continues to make progress towards full employment. Clearly, President Obama’s efforts to rebuild our economy and ensure prosperity for all are working.
However, we must do more to lower persistent unemployment and create jobs in communities of color. In both the African American and Latino communities, unemployment rose slightly last month to 9.0% and 5.6%, respectively. These troubling numbers show that while our economic recovery is strong, it has not benefitted all communities equally.
As our economy continues to recover and grow, we need to ensure everyone has the opportunity to benefit from this prosperity. Congress must do more to address generational poverty and expand robust job opportunities to communities of color. This starts with passing a budget that invests in the American people by creating jobs, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, and expanding affordable education from pre-k to college.”
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Congresswoman Lee is a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees, the Steering and Policy Committee, is a Senior Democratic Whip, former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and co-chair of the Progressive Caucus. She serves as chair of the Democrat Whip Task Force on Poverty, Income Inequality and Opportunity.