Politics

May Jobs Report - A Step Forward, But Not Enough

By Karina

Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released jobs numbers for May showing the US gained 431,000 jobs in May and saw the unemployment rate fall to 9.7 percent:

Speaker Pelosi:

Today?s jobs report marks another step forward for our middle class, working families, and small businesses, but it is not enough. We must do more to strengthen our private sector, support our small businesses, and keep our economy moving in the right direction.

Last month, the unemployment rate fell and private sector jobs expanded; we have added jobs in six of the last seven months. This year, we have added an average of 200,000 jobs per month, a majority in the private sector, a stark contrast to the Bush Administration record of losing an average of nearly 750,000 jobs per month in its last three months.

Democrats in Congress will continue taking action on our number one priority: creating good-paying jobs for the American people. Last week, the House passed the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act ? to create jobs, close loopholes that allow companies to ship jobs overseas, cut taxes for our middle class, and help Americans who lost work through no fault of their own. We will work with the Senate to complete this legislation and take more steps forward for our economy, such as expanding lending for the small businesses that are the engine of our economy.

While congressional Republicans do the bidding of Wall Street, Democrats will keep fighting for Main Street. While Republicans side with special interests and Big Oil, Democrats will side with the people?s interest and investments in clean energy and innovation. While Republicans threaten to take us back to the failed Bush policies that produced devastating job losses, record deficits, and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Democrats will stand up for middle class families, workers, and small businesses.

Learn more about the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act the House passed last week to help create or save more than a million American jobs by:

restoring credit to small businesses

extending tax incentives for American R&D and energy

rebuilding American infrastructure

expanding summer jobs for young people

providing tax relief for middle class American families

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 04, 2010 (boomark / email).