Blog: 43rd Straight Month of Unemployment Above 8%, Participation Rate at 31-Year Low

Statement

When the latest jobs figures were released today, we learned that the unemployment rate remained over 8 percent for the 43rd month in a row. Of even greater concern, the partipation rate fell to 63.5 percent, the lowest since September 1981. In August, 96,000 jobs were added but nearly four times as many Americans left the workforce. You can find these figures and additional information in the Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

The president's policies continue to fail with more than 20 million Americans struggling for work while our country's small businesses face an environment where regulation and uncertainty make it impossible for many to consider hiring.

House Republicans have passed dozens of jobs bills that continue to be ignored by the Democrat-controlled Senate. The President and Senate Democrats' policies of more taxes and bureaucratic red tape will not promote job creation. It is time the Senate does something to address the jobs crisis and takes up the jobs bills that have passed the House. You can track the progress of those bills on this page of my website.

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