WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joint Economic Committee Chairman Dan Coats (R-Ind.) issued a statement regarding today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that the U.S. economy added 173,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, including 140,000 private sector jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 5.1%. The labor force participation rate remained at a recovery low of 62.6%. The long-term unemployment rate as a percent of the jobless grew to 27.7%.

 

“Today’s report shows that the economy remains in a season of tepid growth,” said Coats. “The economy is still affected by troubling trends. The amount of people looking for work for over half a year remains almost double the average. The growth in the workforce has not kept up with population growth. Finally, labor force participation remains low and discouraged workers remain out of the market, continuing a slow decline among prime-age workers. As Congress returns next week, it must do all it can to reverse these troubling trends and get Americans back to work. At a minimum, Congress can fix our broken tax code, oppose burdensome regulations issued by the administration and expand U.S. markets by adopting future trade agreements.”