Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payroll employment grew by 164,000 in July and the unemployment rate was 3.7 percent. Average hourly earnings increased 3.2 percent from the prior year.

“I am pleased to see that employers continue to hire at a solid pace as part of the longest U.S. economic recovery on record. The economy has withstood President Trump’s erratic policies, including trade disputes with China and some of our closest allies that have contributed to a slowdown in global manufacturing.”

“Today’s report reveals persistent inequalities that show not everyone is benefiting from the recovery. Black and Hispanic unemployment rates remain higher than those for whites and Asians, while the share of women working or seeking work hasn’t fully recovered from the last downturn.”

“That is why I urge Congress to approve legislation that would require the Bureau of Economic Analysis to report economic growth by income decile and the top 1 percent. That would help us measure inequality and implement programs and policies to ensure that everyone in this country can achieve the American dream.”

Congresswoman Maloney introduced the Measuring Real Income Growth Act (H.R. 707) this Congress and in the 115th Congress. The legislation would require the Bureau of Economic Analysis to publish distributional analyses of gross domestic product.