Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January jobs report showing that the unemployment rate declined to 9.0 percent and 36,000 total nonfarm jobs were added:

“Today’s jobs numbers show some encouraging signs.  The number of unemployed Americans dropped by 600,000 and the unemployment rate declined. In the past 12 months, we’ve added more than 1.2 million private sector jobs.  The January growth in manufacturing employment reinforced positive news we received earlier in the week, when the ISM Manufacturing Index reached its highest level since May 2004.  

“These numbers also remind us, however, that we have a long way to go to get back to pre-recession employment levels.  While the unemployment rate declined, 13.9 million people were unemployed in January and another 8.4 million were working part time although they would prefer full-time work.  The construction sector, which had been hit even before the Great Recession began, continues to be a drag on employment growth.

“It is clear that we must do more to boost job creation and strengthen our economy.  As Chairman of the JEC, I look forward to hearing from a broad range of business leaders and economists about what more can be done to spur innovation, encourage startups and foster additional job growth.”

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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