Portman Statement on June Jobs Report

Statement

U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) today released the following statement on the nation's June unemployment report, which showed that the economy gained 80,000 jobs in June, 15,000 less than economists predicted and 50,000 -- 100,000 fewer jobs than are needed to absorb the population growth, while the unemployment rate stalled at 8.2 percent:

"Today's disappointing jobs numbers -- concluding the worst three-month period of job growth in nearly two years -- is the latest evidence in a string of troubling reports that our country is headed in the wrong direction. Families in Ohio and across the nation are suffering through the worst recovery since the Great Depression and are looking for presidential leadership and new, pro-growth policies to fulfill the President's promise of a real recovery. These disappointing numbers do little to ease their concerns and are further evidence of the sad reality that the President overpromised and underdelivered. It is clear that bigger government, over-regulation, massive federal spending and higher taxes are not the answer.

"A different, better approach is needed to get our economy back on the right track.

"Truly pro-growth, pro-jobs policies will give the economy a needed boost, and provide the certainty and predictability necessary to put people back to work. This includes overhauling our complicated tax code, stopping the over-regulation, repealing and replacing the President's unaffordable health care law, and pursuing an aggressive domestic energy plan.

"The American people know that current policies are not helping to create jobs. It is time for the Administration to acknowledge this reality and to work with Congress to enact bipartisan policies to encourage growth and prosperity."

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