CHAIR MALONEY: RECESSION AFFECTS ALL WALKS OF LIFE

Washington, D.C. – Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its monthly jobs report for February.  Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Chair of the Joint Economic Committee, released the following statement in reaction to the 651,000 jobs lost last month and 4.4 million since the start of the recession 14 months ago:

“Today’s gut-wrenching jobs losses underscore that this recession continues to affect people from all walks of life.  The stimulus will need time to kick in, but the magnitude of these losses indicates that additional measures will likely be needed.  As unemployment continues to rise, our foreclosure crisis will only grow worse – which is why the House took bold action to pass the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act yesterday.  Congress moved quickly to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to get people back to work; now we must shore up our financial system and stem the tide of foreclosures.”

Quick Facts From the February Jobs Report:
• 651,000 were lost in February, raising the unemployment rate to 8.1 percent, the highest rate in 25 years. 
• After 14 consecutive months of job loss 4.4 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007.
• Manufacturing has cut 1.3 million jobs since December 2007.

The Joint Economic Committee, established under the Employment Act of 1946, was created by Congress to review economic conditions and to analyze the effectiveness of economic policy.
 www.jec.senate.gov
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