Lee to GOP: Stop Standing in the Way of Moving Our Economy Forward
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) issued the following response to the figures released by the Department of Labor showing the economy added 96,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 8.1 percent in August:
“The August report marked the 30th consecutive month of private sector job growth, adding 103,000 private sector jobs. While the overall unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent, African American joblessness remains unacceptably high at 14.1 percent and 10.2 percent for Latinos. While rates of unemployment for African Americans have lowered since last summer when it reached a 28 year high, continuing losses in public sector jobs disproportionately impact communities of color.
“Republicans in Congress must end their obstructionist agenda and work with Congressional Democrats and President Obama to reignite the American dream and put Americans back to work. Passing the American Jobs Act will get struggling Americans into good paying jobs and strengthen the American economy for all. Passing the American Jobs Act would also accelerate job creation in communities of color by investing in our infrastructure, increasing job training efforts, and strengthening the public sector to prevent layoffs and to enable states to rehire hundreds of thousands of teachers, construction workers and first responders.
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