WASHINGTON, DC—Chairman Dan Coats (R-Ind.) and Vice Chairman Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) released part two of a Joint Economic Committee majority report entitled “The ‘New Normal’?: Subdued Employment.”

 

Economic recoveries are typically marked by increased labor force participation and solid income growth; however, during the Obama Recovery we have seen subdued results. The Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats continue to argue that low workforce participation is due to an aging population and that private-sector job growth has been strong in this recovery.  

 

Key findings in part two of this report include:

• This lackluster recovery has been marked by a declining labor force participation rate for workers ages 16-64
• If this recovery followed the average growth of post-1960 recoveries, there would be 5.3 million additional private-sector jobs in the United States
• Individuals have foregone more than $17,000 worth of inflation-adjusted, after-tax income since the start of the recovery

 

To reverse these trends, pro-growth legislation to reduce our debt, modernize our tax code and remove unnecessary regulation is needed in order to grow our economy and encourage job creation. The full report is available on the Joint Economic Committee website, here.