January 08, 2016

Rep. Lee Releases Statement on December Jobs Report

Oakland, CA - Today, the Department of Labor announced that the US economy added 292,000 jobs in December, marking the 70th consecutive month of private sector job growth. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, chair of the Democratic Whip Task Force on Poverty, Income Inequality and Opportunity, released this statement:

“Today’s job report is more evidence that our nation’s economy continues to recover and grow. Last month marked the 70th consecutive month of private sector job growth – adding up to nearly six years of job gains. This historic growth shows the success of President Obama’s policies to spur our economy forward. In 2015 alone, these efforts created 2.65 million jobs.

Today’s report showed important progress in lowering the disproportionately high unemployment rate for African Americans. However, the rate of unemployment for African Americans (8.3%) and Latinos (6.3%) remains much higher than the rate for white Americans (4.5%). Clearly, much more work remains to ensure that our nation’s economic gains benefit all Americans.

As our economy recovers, we cannot afford to leave anyone behind. Congress must act to address persistent poverty and unemployment by creating good-paying jobs, expanding workforce training, investing in our nation’s vital infrastructure and raising the minimum wage while working towards a living wage.”

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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 Whip’s Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity.