Congresswoman Chu Praises New Employment Numbers

Statement

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the unemployment rate dropped for the fifth straight month to 8.3 percent, the lowest it has been in three years. The U.S. economy grew by 243,000 jobs last month, including 50,000 jobs in manufacturing, 44,000 jobs in leisure and hospitality, and another 30,000 jobs in the healthcare industry. Following the very welcome news, Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-32) released the following statement:

"Today's job numbers are a welcome sign that the American economy is making steady progress," said Congresswoman Chu (CA-32) "January was the 23rd consecutive month of private sector job growth, and the unemployment rate is now at its lowest point in the last three years."

The employment numbers raised questions about the effect of Republican policies aimed at shrinking the size of government. According to Department of Labor statistics, workers facing the largest decline in job creation were those in the government sector, with 14,000 jobs lost.

"The reality is our economy is improving in spite of misguided Republican policies," continued Congresswoman Chu. "If President Obama and Congressional Democrats had been allowed to forestall government cuts and implement additional stimulus spending, the total job numbers would have clearly been much higher. Our economy is 14,000 jobs smaller thanks to Republican politicians, and the sad thing is they will actually turn around and blame that on President Obama, too."

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