WASHINGTON – Joint Economic Committee Ranking Member Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) issued the following statement Friday in response to the December jobs report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). BLS announced that the economy added 292,000 nonfarm jobs in December. The unemployment rate remained steady at 5.0 percent.

“The December jobs report is a fine way to end a year that saw 12 months of job growth. We have now seen an unprecedented 70 straight months of private-sector job gains, and the Federal Reserve signaled its confidence in the economy by raising interest rates last month for the first time in almost a decade. The Obama economy is clearly expanding. Is everyone benefiting enough from the improved economy? No. Wages are not growing fast enough and the underemployment and long-term unemployment rates are still too high.

“But, thanks to the President’s economic policies, we have dug ourselves out of the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression and are enjoying a stronger economy than most any other developed nation on the planet. Congress should get busy building upon the Administration’s work creating opportunity and growth by advocating for higher wages and reducing the cost of education for younger generations.”

 

View charts on jobs report below

 

 

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