WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, issued the following statement today after the Department of Labor announced 33,000 jobs were lost in September:

“Today’s job numbers underscore the gravity of the task at hand—to rebuild families’ lost homes, businesses, and communities in the wake of the devastating hurricanes that have affected Americans across the South, Southeast, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. America needs to rebuild, and now is the time to invest in a comprehensive infrastructure plan that will create good-paying jobs and promote economic growth. We also need leadership to address the dire effects of climate change.

“It’s imperative that we work to build more economic opportunities for all Americans. But peddling a tax plan that benefits the wealthy at the expense of working families, or chasing away Dreamers is not the way to do it. I hope that my colleagues across the aisle will join us in committing to a tax plan that benefits working Americans, and pass the DREAM Act so that DACA recipients can continue contributing to our economy and the only nation they call home.”

Joint Economic Committee Democratic staff are comparing job growth each month to the average in the late 1990s (a boom time in the economy), but also to the best individual month each series has ever seen. Click here to follow our job tracker.