09.06.13

Sessions Comments On August Jobs Report

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today regarding this morning’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report that the economy added just 169,000 jobs during the month of August:

“Today’s alarming jobs report should give policymakers in Washington pause. Several of the most worrisome trends in our economy are not only persisting, but getting worse. Labor force participation continues to fall, and is now at its lowest level in 35 years. The last two months saw a massive downward revision in payrolls, meaning 74,000 jobs from June and July simply disappeared (on top of a downward revision in May of 19,000). The educational gap in the employment outlook continues to widen, as unemployment went down for those with a bachelor’s degree but up for those without a high school diploma. Ninety million Americans are now outside of the labor force entirely.

It is past time to refocus our attention on policies that help, not hurt, the most vulnerable among us. A crushing tax and debt burden hangs over our economy like a cloud, restrictive energy policies make U.S. businesses less competitive, and we are speeding towards implementation of a health care law that has been shown to discourage job creation. In the midst of all this, Congress continues to consider a misguided immigration plan to provide legal status to 30 million mostly low-skilled individuals over the next decade.

Too many of our citizens are trapped in a cycle of long-term joblessness, poverty, and reliance on government assistance. We have a national obligation to help these struggling Americans get back to work, into jobs that can support a family, and free from dependence on welfare.”