Washington, D.C.— Today, Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in August and the unemployment rate fell to 4.2%. The unemployment rate was 6.1% for Black workers, 5.5% for Hispanic workers, 3.8% for white workers, 4.1% for Asian workers, and 5.8% (not seasonally adjusted) for American Indian and Alaska Native workers. 

“Democrats have delivered 43 months of consistent job growth and created nearly 16 million new jobs. That’s more than double the job creation under the Trump administration before March 2020. And average wages and salaries have outpaced inflation by nearly $4,500 since January 2021. While Republicans work to make their Wall Street friends richer, Democrats are delivering results for working people. The proof is in the data.”