Politics

Better-Than Expected July Job Loss Numbers

By Karina

This morning, the Department of Labor released unemployment numbers for July showing that 247,000 jobs were lost last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 9.4 percent, both better results than economists had anticipated:

The July job losses were the lowest of any month since last summer. Last week, the Commerce Department also reported better-than-expected news that the GDP has swung more than 5 percentage points in just three months — evidence that the economy is headed in the right direction:

Speaker Pelosi:

Today’s better-than-expected news on job losses and a slight drop the unemployment rate is evidence that the recession is slowing and that our economic policies ? such as the economic recovery act passed earlier this year — are beginning to take a positive effect.

Millions of Americans remain unemployed, and we must redouble our efforts on their behalf; unemployment figures are cold comfort to those grappling with daily survival. Though we have a long way to go to rebuild the economy, we are headed in the right direction and beginning to see real results with our efforts to create good-paying jobs, reduce health care costs, and build a 21st century American economy.

Full post as published by The Gavel on August 07, 2009 (boomark / email).