JEC Chair Maloney's Statement on March Jobs Report

Washington D.C. - Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Chair of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released the following statement on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' March jobs report showing that the unemployment rate remained at 9.7% and 162,000 total nonfarm jobs were added:

"The job growth in March is the strongest job creation we’ve seen since the recession began in December 2007.  I’m particularly encouraged to see that 123,000 jobs were added in the private sector, the most since May 2007. We are making progress in our efforts to get the economy moving and the path to recovery is becoming clearer. 

“Again this month, we see bright spots in manufacturing, which has now gained jobs three months in a row, and in the temporary help sector, which added another 40,000 jobs and 313,000 positions since September.  Additionally, for the first time since June 2007, the construction sector did not lose jobs.

“Still, the reality is that it will take several years to regain the 8.4 million jobs lost during the Great Recession.  To get more Americans back to work faster, Congress needs to take additional actions to expand lending to small businesses, support state and local governments hit hard by the recession, and strengthen job training for workers.   We also need to continue to reach out to the private sector to see what ideas they have to spur job creation. The Recovery Act and the recently-signed HIRE Act are important pieces of job creation legislation and I’m confident Congress will do more in the coming months.  I will remain focused on my number one priority—creating jobs.”

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